Police in California have arrested a woman in connection with two drive-by shootings outside a local television station.
The woman, 46-year-old Thomashana Renee Zeigler, was apprehended around 4 a.m. Friday after her car was located near the studios of Sinclair-owned KBAK (Channel 29, CBS) and KBFX (Channel 52, Fox) in Bakersfield.
After our initial report, a spokesperson for the Bakersfield Police Department confirmed Zeigler’s name and the circumstances of her arrest. A source familiar with the investigation said surveillance cameras manufactured and installed by Flock helped connect Zeigler to a pair of shootings that took place outside the TV station over the past week.
Police initially detained Zeigler, than arrested her after discovering evidence of the shootings in her vehicle, the source said. A search warrant led police to additional firearms and more evidence of the two crimes, a police spokesperson confirmed.
Zeigler was booked into jail on felony counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling and carrying a loaded firearm. Her bail was set at $220,000, according to county records.
“We are deeply relieved that a suspect has been arrested in connection with the incidents at our KBAK/KBFX studios,” Jessica Bellucci, a spokesperson for Sinclair, said in a statement on Friday. “We are thankful that no one was injured and grateful to the Bakersfield Police Department for its tireless efforts in investigating these incidents and bringing a suspect into custody.”
Police began investigating the matter after station employees reported shots fired in the direction of their building last Friday. Surveillance video showed an unknown driver firing multiple times from a car outside the studios before driving off. The same situation repeated itself Tuesday evening, according to a report from KBAK.
In both incidents, the building was damaged by gunfire, but no one was hurt.
The shooting is at least the second involving a local TV station over the past year. Last August, a gunman fired several at the TV studios of KXTV (Channel 10, ABC), a TEGNA-owned station in Sacramento.
Prosecutors later arrested a man suspected of shooting toward the TV station, and claimed his motivation was tied to ABC’s suspension of late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. The suspect, Anibal Hernandez Santana, is still in custody while separate federal and state criminal cases against him proceed through court.
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Editor’s note: The author of this story handles media requests and external communications for the law firm retained by Anibal Hernandez Santana for his legal defense in both cases.
