Police say
gunman Ian Long, 28, shot and killed himself
Gun used in deadly
shooting was bought legally, police say
Twelve people have been killed in southern
California after a gunman opened fire in a crowded bar.
Officials identified the gunman as
Ian David Long, 28. Long was found dead inside the bar, Ventura county sheriff Geoff Dean said. Authorities believe he shot and killed himself.
A sheriff’s deputy, Sergeant Ron Helus, was among the dead, the Ventura county sheriff’s department said. As many as 16 people were injured.
Hundreds of people were at the Borderline Bar and Grill, in Thousand Oaks, near Los Angeles, on Wednesday night when the shooter entered and opened fire. Witnesses reported using barstools to break windows in a desperate attempt to escape. Sheriff Dean described a traumatic scene.
“It’s a horrific scene in there,” Dean said. “There’s blood everywhere.”
Dean said a mental health crisis team had been called to Long’s home in April after he was found to be acting “irate” and “a little irrationally”. He was not taken into custody at that time.
Authorities said Long legally bought the handgun retrieved after the shooting.
Donald Trump tweeted that he had been “fully briefed” on the shooting, and praised the “great bravery shown by police”. The Thousand Oaks shooting comes 11 days after after 11 people were shot and killed at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
The shooter entered the country and western bar, which was holding a ‘College Country Night’, dressed in black with his face partly covered, witnesses told TV crews at the scene.
He fired at a person working on the door of the Borderline before shooting people inside, police said.
Dean said sheriffs responded to 911 calls at about 11.20pm. Sergeant Helus, a 29-year veteran of the force, entered the bar with a highway patrolman after hearing gunshots. Dean said Helus was shot several times before being pulled out of the bar by the highway patrolman, who has not been named, and taken to a nearby hospital.
Helus, who had planned to retire in the next year, died early on Thursday morning, Dean said.
“It saddens us all and tears at our emotions. He died a hero. He went in to save lives, to save other people,” Dean said.
Witnesses described a scene of panic inside the packed bar.
Teylor Whittler said after bar-goers heard shots, “within a split second, everyone yelled, ‘Get down’”.
She said: “I ran to the left of the dance floor and got down and everyone piled on top of each other. It was silent for a couple of seconds and a couple of guys ran towards the back of the club and said, ‘Get up, he’s coming’.
“I stumbled and a guy grabbed me, pulled me up and said, ‘Let’s go’. A bar stool hit me in the head as someone was throwing it at a window.”
The Borderline holds a College Country Night on Wednesdays, according to its website. The event runs from 9pm to 2am and people aged 18 and over are able to attend – the drinking age is 21 in California.
Pepperdine University, a private college about 20 miles south-west of Borderline, said “multiple” students were at the bar.
“The university is working to identify and provide support to those students,” Pepperdine said on Twitter. “The University offers its deepest condolences and is praying for everyone involved in tonight’s tragic events.”