Thomashana Zeigler

Introduction

Thomashana Renee Zeigler is a 46-year-old Bakersfield woman accused of twice opening fire on the KBAK/KBFX television newsroom in downtown Bakersfield, California — first on October 9 and again on October 13, 2026 — and of returning toward the station armed days later. Police say she was pulled over during a traffic stop at 11:35 p.m. on October 15 as she traveled toward the studios on Westwind Drive, and that a loaded .40-caliber handgun and an additional loaded magazine were found inside her car. She was booked into the Kern County Jail on suspicion of shooting at an occupied building and carrying a loaded firearm, bail was set at $220,000, and she is due back in court on October 20.

Background Information

KBAK (Channel 29, CBS) and KBFX (Channel 52, Fox) are Sinclair-owned local news stations that share studios on Westwind Drive in downtown Bakersfield. According to the Bakersfield Police Department, someone fired shots into the building on the night of October 9, striking a conference room and an office, and again during the evening of October 13, when officers located multiple bullet strikes and recovered eleven .40-caliber shell casings from the second incident. Three employees were reported inside the building at the time of the second shooting, and no one was injured in either attack. City-owned surveillance cameras, automated license plate recognition technology and footage from surrounding businesses were credited with helping identify the vehicle used.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Arrested and charged; no adjudicated outcome. Zeigler faces felony counts of shooting at an occupied building and carrying a loaded firearm after two drive-by shootings at a Bakersfield TV newsroom. She was armed, police say, when a traffic stop stopped her short of the station days later. She has not been reported as entering a plea, and no charge has been tried or proven.

The first shooting unfolded just before the station’s ordeal became a weeklong siege. Surveillance video reviewed by police showed a black vehicle pulling up to the KBAK/KBFX studios before several muzzle flashes appeared from the driver’s side window and the car peeled away; ten shots were fired into a conference room and an office, and additional gunfire pierced the station days later. After the second shooting, officers found nearly a dozen .40-caliber shell casings and multiple bullet holes in the building. Several people were inside the newsroom during the attacks, but no one was injured.

The break in the case came from the camera network around the station: city-owned surveillance, automated license plate readers and footage from nearby businesses were credited with identifying the vehicle, and a source familiar with the investigation told The Desk that Flock surveillance cameras helped connect Zeigler to the two shootings. Police said the coordinated work of the Robbery/Homicide Unit, RTIC, VCAT and SEU units, combined with investigative technology, was instrumental in identifying and apprehending the suspect. On the night of October 15, officers pulled Zeigler over at 11:35 p.m. during a traffic stop as she traveled toward the KBAK/KBFX station along Westwind Drive; police said she was armed with a .40-caliber handgun and a loaded magazine, and she was taken into custody and booked at the Kern County Jail. Search warrants served after her arrest, police said, turned up additional firearms and what they described as more alleged threats directed at the station, and the department said the enforcement effort “resulted in Zeigler’s apprehension and prevented a potential additional shooting.” A police spokesperson confirmed Zeigler’s name and the circumstances of the arrest to The Desk.

Zeigler was booked on suspicion of crimes including shooting at an occupied building and carrying a loaded firearm — felony counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling and carrying a loaded firearm, according to Kern County records cited by The Desk — with bail set at $220,000. The New York Post reported she is facing multiple charges, including carrying a loaded firearm and shooting at a building that had people inside, and that she is due back in court on October 20. No plea has been reported, and the case remains in its earliest stage.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The arrest landed four days after the second shooting, as the station worked under a security shadow that saw guards patrolling the downtown grounds. Sinclair Inc., the stations’ owner, said in a statement: “We are deeply relieved that a suspect has been arrested in connection with the incidents at our KBAK/KBFX studios,” adding, “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.” The case drew national coverage because of its target — a newsroom shot up twice in five days — and because it is at least the second shooting at a California TV station in about a year: a man accused of firing at Sacramento’s KXTV was charged after prosecutors linked the attack to his anger over ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel, per The Desk. Police asked anyone with information about the Bakersfield case to call 661-327-7111.

Current Status

Zeigler, 46, was in custody at the Kern County Jail following her October 15 arrest, held in lieu of $220,000 bail, with a court appearance scheduled for October 20, 2026. The charges — shooting at an occupied building and carrying a loaded firearm — are accusations, not findings; she has not been reported as entering a plea, and no count has been tried or proven. BPD says its investigation is ongoing and has asked anyone with additional information to come forward. What is not disputed is the timeline: two shootings at the KBAK/KBFX newsroom on October 9 and October 13 with no injuries, and an arrest made with a loaded gun in the car as she drove back toward the studios.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Until this month Zeigler had no public profile to cancel; now her name is attached permanently to one of the more alarming stories in local news this year — a newsroom targeted twice by gunfire and a suspect, police say, caught returning to the scene armed. The case lands in a stretch that has made media outlets themselves targets, following the Sacramento KXTV shooting case, and it leaves Sinclair stations in Bakersfield operating under added security while the prosecution unfolds. Whatever the October 20 hearing produces, the public record now pairs the 46-year-old Bakersfield woman with eleven shell casings, a bullet-scarred newsroom and a loaded .40-caliber handgun on the drive back to the station.

Sources

NY Post, “Woman accused of shooting California newsroom twice arrested with gun,” Oct 16, 2026 — source
KGET, “Arrest made in shootings at Bakersfield news station building: BPD,” Oct 16, 2026 — source
The Desk, “Police make arrest in Bakersfield TV station shootings,” Oct 16, 2026 — source
The Bakersfield Californian, “BPD arrests woman on suspicion of shooting at local TV news station,” Oct 16, 2026 — source
@nypost trigger tweet, Oct 16, 2026 — source