Man Pulls Gun on KNBC’s Horowitz During Newscast

A man pointed a handgun at KNBC consumer reporter David Horowitz during a live broadcast Wednesday afternoon and demanded that he read a statement, but the program went off the air at once and the man was arrested a few minutes later.

The weapon turned out to be a pellet gun, and no one was hurt.

KNBC anchorwoman Kirstie Wilde said the intruder gained access to the studio by telephoning her and claiming to be Gary Stollman, the son of former on-the-air reporter-pharmacist Max Stollman.

A KNBC spokesman said Max Stollman, contacted by telephone, had acknowledged him as his son and said he had been hospitalized several times for treatment of mental problems.

Wilde said he had indicated a desire to watch the Horowitz broadcast, and she had arranged for him to be allowed to sit in the studio outside camera range. She said he had been watching quietly until about 4:45 p.m. when he suddenly walked onto the set behind Horowitz.

“At first,” she said, “I thought it was a mistake and he didn’t realize he was in range of the camera. But then someone said, ‘He’s got a gun!’ ”

Viewers saw the intruder point the weapon at Horowitz’s back and hand him several sheets of yellow legal paper, saying he wanted them read on the air.

Horowitz said, “I don’t know you. . . . “

On orders from KNBC news director Tom Capra, the live broadcast was cut off. After a moment, the station broadcast its NBC logo and then began airing promotions for its evening programming.

Wilde said she thought the man realized what had happened because he said. “No! I want this to go out!”

Nonetheless, the man continued to point the handgun at Horowitz, who read the statement--a rambling and incoherent indictment of the Central Intelligence Agency and beings from outer space.

Horowitz said he believed the weapon was “a real gun” and said he was wondering as he read the statement, “What’s this guy going to do when I’m done--shoot me? I mean, he was obviously disturbed. . . . “

But when Horowitz was done, the man put down the weapon, saying, “Thank you very much, David. I couldn’t hurt anyone with this BB gun.”

Moments later, he was arrested by Burbank police who had been called to the studio.