John Snowling, 59, shot his wife, who was divorcing him, and then began firing “randomly” at other patrons in the bar, authorities said.
At least three people were killed and six more wounded after a former police officer opened fire in a shooting that appeared to target his estranged wife at an iconic biker bar in Southern California’s Orange County Wednesday evening, authorities said. The gunman is also dead.
The suspect was killed by “multiple” deputies who confronted him minutes after they arrived, Orange County Sheriff’s Department Undersheriff Jeff Hallock told reporters at a late night briefing.
The gunman, identified Thursday as John Snowling, 59, and the three others who were fatally shot were pronounced dead at the scene, Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy said at the initial briefing.
Fennessy said five of the six who were hospitalized were suffering from gunshot wounds, but authorities Thursday said all six had in fact been shot. Two were in critical but stable condition and four were in stable condition as of Thursday morning, according to the hospital where they were treated.
One of the deceased victims was identified as John Leahy, 67, of Irvine. The other two people killed had not been publicly identified as of Thursday evening, but were described as a man and a woman.
The sheriff’s department said no deputies were hurt during the incident.
The shooting occurred at the historic Cook’s Corner bar in the Trabuco Canyon community at about 7 p.m. local time. In a Thursday news conference, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said, it was inaccurate to call the location a biker bar, despite the bar’s own website referring to itself that way.
“That might have been what it was 30, 40 years ago, but has transitioned into something much beyond what that is,” Barnes said. “It’s a gathering place. It’s a place for families to go to share a meal.
