Crime, NewsStream, Odd News

12 Dead including police officer in mass shooting

A gunman opened fire late Thursday night in a Southern California bar and country music venue. The Ventura County sheriff said the bar was crowded with more than 100 people, many of them college students during the bar’s weekly “College night.”.

The gunman, identified by police as Ian David Long, 28, killed 12 people, including a sheriff’s sergeant who responded to the gunfire. Police later found the shooter dead inside the bar, possibly from a self-inflicted wound.

The rampage took place at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Authorities don’t yet know the motive for the shooting.

“There was just young people, like young, 18, 19, 20, just having a great time,” said a step-father who was at the bar with his step-son. “And this maniac came in and started shooting at people for no reason at all.”

What we know about the shooter so far

 

The gunman who killed 12 people at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, was a 28-year-old veteran of the US Marine Corps, officials said.

Ian David Long, identified as the gunman in the Borderline Bar shooting in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Here’s what we know about shooter Ian David Long so far:

  1. He had previous run-ins with the law: In April, officers responded to a disturbance at Long’s home, and he was irate and acting irrationally, said Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean.
  2. He was in the Marine Corps: Long was on active duty from August 2008 to March 2013, according to Defense Department records.
  3. He lived with his mother: A neighbor told CNN that Long’s mother “lived in fear” of what her son might do, saying when police were called to the house earlier this year “it took them about a half a day to get him out of the house.”
  4. He was divorced: Long got married in 2009 in Honolulu, Hawaii, but got separated in 2011 and dissolved the marriage in April 2013 in Ventura County, California. They had no children and owned no property.
  5. He is believed to have killed himself: His body was found inside the bar when police were able to enter the building.
  6. He used to frequent Borderline Bar & Grill: The bar was the site of the deadly shooting. One of Long’s old friends, who declined to be identified, said, “He was a part of that community.”
  7. His friends describe him as “a very stable man.” Mark Waid, one of Long’s high school friends, told CNN, “The Ian I knew would not do this.” Three other friends, who declined to be identified, also expressed surprise. One commented, “I don’t know what the hell happened.”