San Diego sportscaster hospitalized after shooting; suspect arrested

The sports director at a San Diego television station remained hospitalized Wednesday after being shot multiple times by a gunman who ambushed him in the driveway of his home in the Scripps Ranch neighborhood.

Kyla Kraska, 48, sports director at KFMB-TV News 8, underwent several hours of surgery for wounds to his leg and stomach. He suffered 10 wounds and is listed in critical but stable condition, the station reported.

The suspected gunman, Mike Montana, 54, a house painter, was arrested seven hours later after a standoff with police at the home in El Cajon where he rents a room.

Kraska and Montana had a dispute over a painting job at Kraska’s home, police said. Montana had allegedly left hostile messages at Kraska’s home in the days before the incident.

Witnesses to the shooting had told police that the gunman fled in a white minivan with the words Superior Painting on the side.

Police were called when neighbors in El Cajon, about 20 miles away, spotted a vehicle matching that description at a home there. Montana surrendered without incident.

Montana is in county jail without bail, held on a count of attempted murder, according to jail records. He is set for arraignment Tuesday.

Montana reportedly has had disputes with people who hired him as a painter but were dissatisfied with his work and, on at least one occasion, made veiled threats about being a marksman, according to local media.

Witnesses told police that they heard multiple gunshots around 3 p.m. Tuesday. The back window of Kraska’s Mercedes was shot out.

Kraska was found face-down in the street. He remained conscious and was able to talk as an ambulance rushed him to a local hospital.

A native of Boston who attended Syracuse University, Kraska joined KFMB in 1999 after working at stations in New York, Florida, Texas and Los Angeles.

He was a morning and noon news anchor before being assigned to the sports director job in 2003. Among other things, he hosts a program after Chargers’ football games. He has won multiple awards.

On the KFMB website, Kraska says that being a sportscaster in San Diego is “my dream job in my dream city...Sometimes I wonder how on earth I’m getting paid for this.”

Twitter: @LATsandiego