'Sometimes Paranoid' KTRK Shooter May Have Thought Reporters Were Spying On Her

Scary stuff at KTRK Houston March 27 as a disturbed person fired bullets at the station building. The ABC-owned station was put on lockdown. Michelle Monique Burks was arrested in a traffic stop a few minutes after the shooting; police were assisted by a cellphone photo eyewitness Jeff Tobin took of the suspect. 

"We here at ABC-13 became the news when shots were fired outside our studios," said the KTRK anchor.

Burks had posted some peculiar messages on the ABC-13 Facebook page. The station's website mentioned "rambling, sometimes paranoid demands to remove cameras and listening devices from her home."

Burks shot second-floor windows in the station facility at around 9 a.m. but did not get through a security gate around the station.

Said ABC-13 in a statement:

"We want to thank Jeff Tobin, the alert eyewitness who heroically took photos while shots were still being fired, which helped police quickly apprehend the suspect. We are grateful to Houston Police Department for their fast response, that no one was injured and the ABC-13 staff is safe and sound."

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.