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Authorities allege a man in California opened fire on an ABC affiliate’s TV station in California and had a note inside his car detailing that FBI Director Kash Patel and other officials in the Trump administration are “next.”
Anibal Hernandez Santana, 63, is accused of opening fire on ABC 10’s building in Sacramento, California on Friday, Sept. 19. No one was hurt in the shooting, but federal officials said employees inside the building had to shelter in place and pause operations.
Here is what we know about Santana, the man accused of shooting into the building with a handgun.
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Anibal Hernandez Santana is accused of opening fire on an ABC affiliate’s station. (Reuters/Fred Greaves and DOJ)
The alleged crime
According to a federal complaint, Santana allegedly used a Sub Compact 9mm handgun to open fire into the KXTV/ABC 10 building on Sept. 19, forcing the TV station to cancel coverage of a planned news conference.
Using surveillance video, Sacramento Police detectives identified the car Santana was driving as a white Nissan Kicks.
Santana was charged with possession of a firearm within a school zone, discharge of a firearm within a school zone and interference with a radio communications station.
The shooting took place 834 feet from a local high school and also close to an elementary school, prosecutors said, explaining the additional charge.
At the time of the shooting, prosecutors said Santana was “wearing a gray T-shirt, dark-colored pants, gray and white shoes and a dark-colored satchel worn around his torso.”
Three days before the alleged shooting on Sept. 16, federal prosecutors allege that Hernandez Santana walked to a nearby elementary school “unannounced” dressed in military-looking pants, an army cap and dark sunglasses.
At the elementary school, Santana allegedly asked if he could “read to the children,” to which an employee said that wasn’t possible and he’d need to be cleared as a volunteer. According to court documents, Santana again insisted on reading to the children, then left a note that read “I would like to read to young students in my spare time.” He was then asked to leave.
The employee who spoke with Santana described him as “weird” and “anxious,” prosecutors said.
Employees at the school told detectives they “barely recognized him” and he appeared “very out of character.”
“If he gets out of custody, we are scared for our school’s safety,” a school employee said, according to prosecutors.
What was found at Santana’s apartment
Sacramento Police Department officers arrested Santana at his apartment within city limits that evening.
At the apartment, detectives found a “dark colored satchel” that was consistent with the one seen on surveillance video being worn by the suspect, according to the federal complaint.
Prosecutors said detectives found the Sub Compact 9mm handgun inside the satchel, which matches the caliber and bullet casing found at the scene of the shooting, adding that an empty magazine was found inside the handgun.
Detectives also found a planner which displayed days of the week. Under “Friday,” the day of the shooting, detectives found a handwritten note that stated “Do the Next Scary Thing,” according to the complaint.
Santana was booked into jail and released Saturday, Sept. 20, but was re-arrested. According to the complaint, detectives also spoke with Santana’s “estranged wife.”
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Bullet holes struck through a window at ABC 10. (Credit: KTXL)
What was found inside Santana’s car
After Santana was released from jail on Saturday, law enforcement officials searched through his white Nissan Kicks. Detectives found a handwritten note inside Santana’s car, which referenced Jeffrey Epstein and stated certain officials within the Trump administration are “next.”
“For hiding Epstein & ignoring red flags. Do not support Patel, Bongino, & AG Pam Bondi. They’re next. – C.K. from above,” the handwritten note stated, according to the complaint.
His social media
Mark Reichel, Santana’s attorney, said he believes his client’s left-wing social media played a role in the filing of federal charges.
“Oh, absolutely, they’re looking to see if this is political violence. I can guarantee you that, there’s just no dispute,” Reichel told KCRA. “If you look at his social media, they’re going to say, ‘Boy, it sure shows that he’s liberal and left wing.’ So you think they’re going to overlook something like that? I don’t think so.”
Reichel said Santana was “very” critical of the Trump administration.
“It’s undisputed. They’re going to look at his social media and say, ‘Look, he was very critical of the administration, very critical of Trump.’ And then this happens,” Reichel said.
Authorities said there were no injuries reported at the California news station. (Credit: KTXL)
What his attorney has said
Reichel told Fox News Digital the circumstances surrounding the case are “highly unusual.”
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“It is remarkably uncommon for any individual to face simultaneous state and federal charges for the same alleged conduct,” Reichel said.
“Given the highly unusual circumstances here, we understand the news media and the public have many questions, as do we. At this time, we have not had an opportunity to review the evidence in the case, so our ability to provide those answers is non-existent. Mr. Hernandez Santana is entitled to due process — he is innocent unless and until he is found otherwise.”
Reichel provided the following statement to Fox News Digital after Thursday’s court hearing:
“Right now, my client is innocent unless and until 12 people inside each courthouse, in each
case, find that he is no longer innocent. America is a nation that is held together by the rule of
law, and there are two sides to every story,” he said.