An Atlanta TV reporter woke up to a harrowing incident at her home early Thursday morning.
CBS Atlanta News reporter Madeline Montgomery and her fiancé, Robert Sinners, awoke shortly after midnight Thursday to sounds of gunfire outside of their home in southwest Atlanta, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. They would later find bullets had ripped through their house.
Montgomery posted on Instagram: “Good morning from the crime scene that is our house. Woke up to someone shooting over 20 times into the living room and front bedroom.” She added, “I’m used to covering these crime scenes, not living in them. Thankful our family and neighbors are ok.”
Reports say witnesses saw two men firing toward the property. “Literally everywhere we look, we find a new bullet hole,” said Montgomery.
Montgomery’s soon-to-be husband, Sinners, is a communications director for Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. The political jousting of Georgia’s elections was mentioned as a probable cause of the shooting, but a preliminary police investigation concluded the incident was not politically motivated, according to the AJC. No reason for the shooting has been confirmed.
“The fact that political violence has to be considered is a sobering reminder of where we are,” said Sinners to AJC reporter Greg Bluestein. “We have no indication that’s what occurred, but we’ll see how the investigation unfolds.” Sinners and Montgomery were unharmed. Two suspects in the shooting are in custody.
Montgomery is entering her first full year as a reporter for CBS Atlanta News. The Emmy-nominated Atlanta native originally reported for WANF (Atlanta News First) from 2022 to 2025. She also worked in West Palm Beach, Fla, Savannah, Ga., Abilene, TX., and Myrtle Beach, SC.
Photo credits: CBS Atlanta, Instagram/Madeline Montgomery
