AP 08/20 08:44 EDT V0964    BURBANK, Calif. (AP) -- A man with a history of mental illness seized control of a live newscast by pointing a 
realistic toy pistol at TV reporter David Horowitz and demanding he read a statement about the CIA and space creatures.     Gary Stollman, 3
4, of Tallahassee, Fla., was booked for investigation offalse imprisonment and disturbing the peace after Wednesday's brief takeover ofKNBC-
TV, said police Lt. Jay Farrand.     Horowitz and anchors Kirstie Wilde and John Beard were unharmed.     Stollman, taken to the jail ward a
t Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center,was to undergo a mental evaluation, police Sgt. Joseph Latta said.     Almost as soon as Stollman ap
peared on camera at 4:42 p.m., toy gun in hand,news director Tom Capra ordered a blackout of Wednesday's newscast.     Horowitz read the man
's statement during a nine-minute period in which KNBCbroadcast a message asking its viewing audience to stand by.     "The reason we went t
o black is because we can't let people with guns orweapons of any kind take the station hostage," Capra told reporters at a newsconference. 
    The document Horowitz read was a rambling statement warning of a plot by theCIA and outer space "alien forces" against the U.S. governme
nt, and "possiblythe human race itself."     Heather Burke was among scores of television viewers who called police andother news media to r
eport what was happening.     "I'm sitting here watching TV, and I'm just freaking out," Ms. Burke saidfrom her home in Hollywood. "You coul
d see the gun, it was black, it looked like a .357 Magnum."     The intruder used a type of toy that Horowitz has complained about repeatedl
y on his nationally syndicated consumer show, "Fight Back With David Horowitz."     "The irony is that this guy did this with a toy gun and 
I had been tellingparents for months not to get their kids replica toy guns," Horowitz said at anews conference.     With thousands of viewe
rs watching, Horowitz maintained a calm demeanor asthe man brandished the fake weapon. After Horowitz read the statement, the mantold him: "
Thank you very much, David. I couldn't hurt anyone with this BB gun."   "The gun looked very real to me the whole nine minutes I was watchin
g it,"said Beard, who grabbed the replica when the intruder put it down after Horowitz finished reading the statement.     "I thought if he'
s crazy enough to bring this in here, he's crazy enough toshoot all of us even if we did read his message. He had his finger on thetrigger t
he whole time," Beard added.     Max Stollman, who formerly reported about pharmacy matters for KNBC news,said the arrested man is his son. 
"I do have a sick son. He has beenhospitalized a number of times. I'm thankful he wasn't killed," he said in astatement.     Capra said the 
station went off the air 28 seconds after the man appeared onthe screen. The broadcast was resumed about 10 minutes later.     Horowitz reco
unted for viewers what had occurred. He said he was preparing to deliver his report when a man he had noticed in the studio came up behind h
im.   "He said, 'I've got a gun at your back and I'm going to kill you unless youread this statement,"' Horowitz said.     Ms. Wilde told vi
ewers that Stollman was allowed into the studio because hisfather had worked for the station. Stollman, who was not searched, had said hewan
ted to watch the program.