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California shooting: gunman kills 12 at Thousand Oaks western bar California shooting: gunman kills 12 at Thousand Oaks western bar
(35 minutes later)
Twelve people were shot and killed when a gunman opened fire in a crowded country and western bar in southern California, police have said. Twelve people were killed when a gunman opened fire in a crowded bar in southern California, police said on Thursday morning.
The gunman is also dead, said sheriff Sgt Eric Buschow of Ventura county. A sheriff’s sergeant was one of those killed. A sheriff’s deputy is among the dead, the Ventura county Sheriff’s department said. The gunman was found dead inside the bar.
“It’s a horrific scene in there. There’s blood everywhere,” said Sheriff Geoff Dean. “The suspect is part of that.” 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, and Ventura county sheriff Geoff Dean described a traumatic scene.
Dean said others in the bar at the time of the shooting were currently being interviewed by investigators. “It’s a horrific scene in there,” Dean said at a news conference in the parking lot of the Borderline Bar & Grill. “There’s blood everywhere.”
At least 30 shots were fired at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, about 40 miles west of Los Angeles, with the first reports coming in at 11.20pm on Wednesday night. Dean said officers had not yet determined whether the gunman took his own life.
Witnesses said a man fired several shots from a handgun before tossing smoke bombs into the crowded bar. Donald Trump tweeted that he had been “fully briefed” on the shooting, and praised the “great bravery shown by police”.
Dean said sheriff’s sergeant Ron Helus attended the scene but was shot after he entered the building. He died in a hospital early on Thursday. Authorities did not say how the gunman died. The shooter entered the country and western bar, which was holding a “College Country Night”, dressed in all black with his face partly covered, witnesses told TV crews at the scene.
Helus was described as a father of one and an officer with 29 years of service, who was due to retire next year. The man who was described as tall, with his head covered with a hood, first fired at a person working on the door of the Borderline before shooting people inside.
Dean said sheriffs responded to 911 calls at about 11.20pm. Sheriff’s Sergeant Ron 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 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.“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 sheer panic inside the packed nightclub. They described an opening volley of shots and then a pause, during which club goers scrambled to escape, throwing bar stools through windows and running through the kitchen to get out.
Teylor Whittler, who was at the club, said after club goers heard shots “within a split second everyone yelled ‘get down’.
“I ran to the left of the dance floor and got down and everyone piled on top of each other,” she told CNN.
“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 LA Times reported that 10 other people may have been injured in the bar.
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 University said on Twitter. It said staff were working to identify the students.
“The University offers its deepest condolences and is praying for everyone involved in tonight’s tragic events.”
Some tearful reunions among those presumably (though unconfirmed) at Borderline or who knew them at Borderline. #Borderline #BorderlineShooting #ThousandOaksShooting @vcstar pic.twitter.com/0Ik19qFyGaSome tearful reunions among those presumably (though unconfirmed) at Borderline or who knew them at Borderline. #Borderline #BorderlineShooting #ThousandOaksShooting @vcstar pic.twitter.com/0Ik19qFyGa
An injured man told local television channel KTLA: “We just dropped to the ground, we heard a lot of screaming. My friend is the DJ so she cut off the music. We just heard a lot of mayhem.”
Another witness from inside, Teylor Whittler, said: “I was on the dance floor and I heard the gunshots, so I looked back and then all of a sudden everyone screamed: get down!
“It was a huge panic, everyone got up, I was trampled, I was kind of left on the floor until some guy came behind me and grabbed me and dragged me out.”
According to reports people used chairs to break the window and escape, while others took shelter inside the bar’s toilets.
Dean says around 10 other people were shot and wounded. No other information on the victims was immediately known.
The bar’s website says its hosts “College Country Night” every Wednesday. Police said hundreds were inside when the shooting occurred.
CaliforniaCalifornia
US crimeUS crime
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