More details about ABC10 Sacramento shooting suspect revealed by prosecutors
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Anibal Hernandez Santana made his first appearance in Sacramento Superior Court.
- Hernandez Santana is accused of shooting at the ABC10 TV station.
- The defense attorney entered a not guilty plea on behalf of his client.
A prosecutor on Thursday revealed new details as the man accused of a shooting at a TV station in September made his first appearance in Sacramento Superior Court.
Anibal “Al” Hernandez Santana, a retired lobbyist accused of firing a gun last month at ABC10’s studios in Upper Land Park, was arraigned on state criminal charges two months after the incident.
The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office formally charged Hernandez Santana, 64, with firing a gun into an inhabited building, assault with a semi-automatic firearm, and firing a gun in a grossly negligent manner related to the Sept. 19 incident. The felony charges include enhancements for using a firearm, which could extend a prison sentence if he’s convicted.
The shooting occurred shortly after 1:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at the studios on the 400 block of Broadway. It came a day after about 15 protesters held a demonstration outside the TV station to denounce a network decision to take “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air following remarks Kimmel made related to Kirk’s murder.
The ABC network, which is owned by Disney, was criticized for its decision to halt production of Kimmel’s late night show. The show returned to the airwaves several days later.
New criminal charge
The District Attorney’s Office has filed a new criminal charge in a separate case that will ultimately be consolidated with his other charges. Hernandez Santana faces a felony charge of firing a gun on Sept. 18 at an inhabited building at 2555 Third Street in Sacramento.
Deputy District Attorney Casey Newton said on Thursday morning in court that Hernandez Santana, on the night before the ABC10 shooting, fired a gun at another building adjacent to the TV station offices in a “test run” for the next day’s shooting or simply to shoot at another building.
The Third Street office building, where an immigration attorney’s office, an accounting firm, a solar energy company, a lending firm and an office for a machinery parts manufacture is located, is just around the corner from the ABC10 TV station at 400 Broadway.
Hernandez Santana, who has remained in custody since Sept. 20 at the Sacramento County Main Jail, appeared for his arraignment Thursday wearing an orange jail inmate uniform while standing inside the courtroom’s holding cell for defendants in custody.
He spoke twice briefly in court twice. When Judge David Bonilla asked whether his name was correct on the complaints, Hernandez Santana said, “Yes it is, your honor.” He spoke again at the end of the hearing to confirm he was waiving his right to a preliminary hearing within 60 days.
Not guilty plea
Mark Reichel, Hernandez Santana’s attorney, entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of his client and denied the allegations in the enhancements to his charges.
“My client did plead not guilty today, and that’s for a good reason. We haven’t had a trial yet,” Reichel told news reporters outside the courthouse. “There’ll be a trial down the road where everybody gets to hear all of the evidence. Right now, you’re just hearing the first side of the evidence. That’s what everybody knows, because that’s what you’ve seen so far.“
Reichel said he will be exploring legal defenses for client that include mental health defenses as the defense attorney continues to receive more evidence from prosecutors.
“Obviously we’re going to be exploring issues about mental health defenses in a case like this,” Reichel said. “I don’t think that’s a surprise to anyone that you’re gonna look at the issue of mental health defenses.”
The prosecutor on Thursday asked the judge to keep Hernandez Santana in custody for the duration of his case, arguing that the defendant is a “highly dangerous” person who planned a shooting at an occupied building on Sept. 19.
Newton told the judge that Hernandez Santana on fired a gun in the direction of the ABC10 TV station that day before going to his vehicle and changing his clothes and firing the gun at the building again. Then, Hernandez Santana from across the street fired the gun at a window of TV station’s offices.
The judge said the evidence presented to him in court Thursday shows there’s a “substantial likelihood” that releasing Hernandez Santana from jail could result in a great bodily injury to others. Bonilla ordered Hernandez Santana to be ineligible for bail while in custody as he awaits prosecution.
Bonilla scheduled Hernandez Santana to return to court Jan. 21 for further proceedings in his state criminal case.
Federal criminal case
A federal judge in September had already ordered Hernandez Santana to remain in jail while facing federal charges stemming from the ABC10 shooting, so he still would’ve remained in jail.
Hernandez Santana has already appeared in federal court three times since his arrest. On Oct. 6, Reichel entered a not guilty plea on behalf of his client in Hernandez Santana’s federal criminal case.
A federal grand jury indicted Hernandez Santana of Sacramento on charges of firing a 9mm handgun within a school zone, possessing a firearm within a school zone and willfully or maliciously interfering with or causing interference to any radio communications of any station. If convicted of the federal charges, he faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
A criminal complaint filed by the FBI alleged that investigators found in Hernandez Santana’s car a handwritten note that read, “For hiding Epstein & ignoring red flags. Do not support Patel, Bongino, & AG Pam Bondi. They’re next. – C.K. from above.” The note was referencing the Jefferey Epstein child sex trafficking scandal, along with FBI Director Kash Patel, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, President Donald Trump’s attorney general and the shooting death of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk at a Sept. 10 event at Utah Valley University.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliot Wong has said in court that Hernandez Santana stood in a nearby school zone and fired a gunshot into the air shortly before driving around the block to fire three gunshots into the lobby of the ABC10 building. The TV station is near Leataata Floyd Elementary School and Health Professions High School.
Hernandez Santana’s federal case is scheduled to return June 1.
This story was originally published November 20, 2025 at 12:19 PM.
