Man arrested after drive-by shooting at ABC TV station in Sacramento

A man has been arrested after a drive-by shooting into an ABC affiliate TV station in Sacramento, according to police.

Anibal Hernandezsantana, 64 years old, was arrested early Saturday and charged with felonies that include shooting into an occupied building, assault with a deadly weapon and negligent discharge of a firearm, the Sacramento Police Department told NPR in a statement. He was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on Saturday with a $200,000 bail, according to the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office inmate records database.

On Friday, around 1:30 p.m. local time, police responded to reports of shots fired in the 400 block of Broadway, where the ABC10 TV station is located. At least three bullets were fired into a window of the TV station’s lobby, according to police. After the shots were fired, the vehicle drove off. The building was occupied at the time of the shooting and no one was injured, police also said. ABC10 is an affiliate of ABC and owned by TEGNA.

The shooting occurred a day after protesters demonstrated outside of the station over Jimmy Kimmel’s show being suspended indefinitely by ABC. It is unclear whether there’s any connection between the shooting and the show’s suspension or the protest, and police told NPR the motive is under investigation.

TEGNA is grateful their employees were unharmed and are safe, a spokesperson for the company told NPR on Saturday. The company is also maintaining increased security at ABC10, the spokesperson said.

“We’re aware of the arrest connected to the shots fired into the KXTV building yesterday and continue to cooperate with the police,” the spokesperson said. “Our priority is to ensure our employees’ safety and well-being as they continue to carry out our mission to serve our community with critical local news and information.”

Journalists and organizations condemned the shooting, including the National Association of Black Journalists Sacramento chapter, which called the shooting “heartbreaking and unacceptable.”

“As fellow journalists, the members of the Sacramento Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists want to be clear: violence against members of the media is violence against our entire community,” the organization said in a statement on social media. “Our hearts are with those impacted, and we call on the entire community to join us in lifting up, supporting, and protecting the journalists who serve you every single day.”

Hernandezsantana is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 3 p.m. local time. It is unclear whether he has obtained legal counsel at this time.