A Sacramento man who railed against President Trump online allegedly opened fire on a local ABC affiliate in a brazen drive-by shooting — just a day after furious protesters demonstrated outside the station over the suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Anibal Hernandez-Santana, 64, was busted Friday night at an apartment in the River Park neighborhood and charged with blasting three bullets into the lobby window of ABC10’s Broadway headquarters hours earlier, according to reports.
Police said they linked the accused gunman’s vehicle to the shooting.
Officers said the suspect, 64-year-old Anibal Hernandezsantana, was linked to the drive-by after investigators tracked his vehicle. kcra
“The motive remains under investigation, and we would like to thank the FBI for providing resources in support of this investigation,” a Sacramento Police Department spokesperson told Variety.
No one was hurt when the suspected shooter fired off shots just after 1:30 p.m. Friday, and no protests were underway when gunfire rang out, the Sacramento County Police Department told The Post.
The alleged gunman, a former health policy analyst for the California Indian Health Board, posted on X the day before the shooting, seemingly wishing for Trump’s death, the outlet reported.
“Where is a good heart attack when we need it the most??” the post read.
Protesters gathered outside ABC10 on Thursday over the suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” but police said no demonstrations were happening at the time of the shooting. REUTERS
“Please Join in my thoughts and prayers for the physical demise of our fearful leader.”
In July, after Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show” was canceled, Hernandez-Santana raged online that “the authoritarian oligarchy is now complete” and urged others to “fight like hell.”
Hernandez-Santana was reportedly fired from the nonprofit in 2018 after a clash with supervisors and sued them a year later, alleging discrimination and retaliation over denied leave to care for his disabled son, according to a complaint obtained by Variety.
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He withdrew the lawsuit in 2020.
Hernandez-Santana was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, shooting into an occupied building and negligent discharge of a firearm.
He is being held at the Sacramento County Main Jail on $200,000 bail, jail records show.
Three bullet holes remained visible in ABC10’s front lobby window after Friday’s shooting, though no employees were injured. kcra
A court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday.
Friday’s shooting came just one day after furious protesters gathered at the news station to condemn ABC for yanking Jimmy Kimmel’s one-hour late-night show in the wake of controversial remarks the 57-year-old made about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s accused killer.
Video showed demonstrators carrying signs blasting the network and defending the comedian’s right to free speech.
Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned the violent incident on X, calling it “an attack on our democracy itself.”
Nexstar Media Group, which recently announced a $6.2 billion deal to acquire Tegna and its affiliates, including KXTV, demanded Kimmel’s removal this week. By Wednesday, ABC announced the late-night show would be “pre-empted indefinitely.”
The decision sparked protests in New York and Los Angeles. Kimmel has stayed off the air since the suspension, as Disney and Kimmel negotiate his possible return.
Tegna, which owns ABC10, said extra security was being brought on at the station.
Sacramento police urged anyone with information about the shooting to contact investigators.