Police Hunt Gunman After Second Shooting at Bakersfield TV Station

Someone fired into the KBAK/KBFX television studio in Bakersfield, California, for a second time early Tuesday, four days after 10 rounds tore into a conference room and an office at the same building. No one was hurt either time, and no arrest has been made.

The first shooting happened Friday night, October 9, 2026, at the shared studio on Westwind Drive, according to the stations. Bakersfield police said 10 shots went into the building. Additional shots struck the studio during the Tuesday morning attack. The damage to the building includes a front-facing window.

Employees were inside working when the building was fired on, ABC30 reported. Investigators have not released a motive, have not named a suspect, and have not said whether they believe the two shootings were carried out by the same person.

A Dark Car on the Security Video

Security camera video released by Sinclair from the October 9 shooting shows a dark-colored car outside the building on Westwind Drive. Muzzle flashes appear as the shots are fired, and the car eventually drives away.

A similar dark vehicle was also spotted Tuesday morning. That is close to the full public description of the shooter at this point: a dark car and flashes in the dark. No physical description, no name.

Ten Rounds Into a Conference Room and an Office

The Friday shooting happened at around 10 p.m., according to the stations. Investigators said the 10 rounds struck a conference room and an office, both spaces used by station staff.

A local TV studio on a Friday night is not an empty office park. Weekend crews, late newscasts and engineers keep the lights on, which is why the absence of injuries is the detail police and the company both led with.

Then It Happened Again on Tuesday Morning

The second shooting came in the early hours of Tuesday, October 13. Police said more shots hit the building. Again, no injuries. Again, no arrest.

Bakersfield police are investigating both incidents. Whether the station was deliberately targeted or caught up in something random has not been established publicly, and police have not said which they believe it to be.

Sinclair Says It Is Taking the Shootings Extremely Seriously

After the first shooting, Jessica Belluci with Sinclair, Inc. said in a statement: "We are cooperating fully with the Bakersfield Police Department as it investigates a shooting incident at our KBAK/KBFX studios Friday evening. Thankfully, no one was injured. The safety and well-being of our employees is our top priority, and we are taking appropriate steps to ensure a safe and secure workplace. We appreciate the efforts of local law enforcement as the investigation continues."

The company's tone changed after the second one. Sinclair said it was "deeply concerned by a second shooting incident at our KBAK/KBFX studios in Bakersfield this morning, following a similar incident Friday evening," and added that it was grateful to the Bakersfield Police Department "for its swift response, and we appreciate their continued efforts to investigate these incidents and bring those responsible to justice."

Police Want Tips, and They Are Starting With Almost Nothing

Anyone with information has been asked to call the Bakersfield Police Department at (661) 327-7111.

What investigators have is video of a car and a count of rounds. What they do not have, publicly, is a suspect, a motive, a connection between the two nights, or a statement that the station was singled out. Those are four separate unknowns, and police have not closed any of them.

California Treats Shooting Into a Building as a Felony

Under California Penal Code Section 246, maliciously discharging a firearm at an occupied building can be charged as a felony, carrying three, five or seven years in state prison, or as a misdemeanor with six months to a year in county jail.

The occupied part matters. The law is written around shooting at a building where people are, not an empty one, and staff were working in the Bakersfield studio when it came under fire.

A Sacramento Station Was Shot At in 2025

Bakersfield is not the first California broadcast studio to take gunfire. In September 2025, Sacramento's KXTV was targeted in a similar drive-by shooting that sent rounds into its lobby, and a suspect faces state and federal felony charges, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.

The man charged in that case, 64 at the time, has pleaded not guilty to the federal counts. He has not been convicted. Physical attacks on American newsrooms are rare, which is part of why two in one week at the same Bakersfield address stands out.

The Building Houses Two Affiliates and One Newsroom

KBAK is Bakersfield's CBS affiliate. KBFX is the Fox affiliate. Both are run under Sinclair Broadcast Group out of the shared studio facility at 1901 Westwind Drive, listed in the FCC Public Inspection Files. Online, the operation goes by BakersfieldNow.

KBAK signed on in August 1953 as KAFY-TV, making it the oldest television station in Bakersfield. Its original studios were on Chester Avenue before the stations moved into the Westwind Drive complex where the shootings happened.

Where Bakersfield Sits, and What Its Numbers Looked Like

The city sits in the southern San Joaquin Valley, about 115 miles north of Los Angeles. It is a working oil and agriculture town with a television market that has been covering itself since the Eisenhower years.

Shootings in Bakersfield fell 60 percent between 2021 and 2024, according to the city. Statewide, firearm-involved aggravated assaults were 33.6 percent above 2019 levels in 2024, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Two shootings at one address in four days cut against the local trend line.

The Stations Stayed on the Air

KBAK/KBFX told viewers they can keep getting news on the stations' websites, social media channels and on television, and that they may see occasional broadcasts from partners at The National News Desk during some local news time periods.

Sinclair said it is taking steps to make the workplace secure, without detailing what those steps are.

Where the Case Stands

No arrests have been made in either shooting. Police are still searching for the person who fired at the station while employees were inside, and investigators have not publicly identified a possible motive.

The known tally is this: 10 rounds into a conference room and an office on the night of October 9, more rounds into the building in the early hours of October 13, damage that included a front-facing window, zero injuries, and a dark car on tape that nobody has put a name to yet.