Amid the chaos of the shooting tragedy in Thousand Oaks, CA, a moment of heroism occurred.
Amid the chaos of the shooting tragedy in Thousand Oaks, CA, a moment of heroism occurred.
One woman who survived the attack that killed 12 people told ABC News she and her friend were rescued by a man who broke a window with a chair and helped her escape.
The woman, who would only give her first name as Savannah, said that man and another carried them out through the window.
“A guy was able to throw me out the window,” she told ABC. “They had chairs and threw them out the window, and they were able to take me and my girlfriend out the window and carried us out here. I was able to get out, so I don’t know how long it was going on for, but it felt like at least five minutes. It probably went on for at least 10.”
ABC also spoke to other witnesses who saw people hiding under tables and jumping out of windows to escape.
“We were behind this barrier, and then he pops off a whole other 30 rounds — 10 minutes after that, four cops come, drag everyone out,” one witness told police. “Everyone starts jumping through the windows,” he added, noting that his friend was shot in the shoulder.
When the shooter entered, he through smoke grenades and continued to do so between shots. The witness who spoke to police said everyone ducked down. “We start grabbing chairs, throwing them out the window,” he said.
Another woman told Reuters she played dead while the suspect was shooting.
“We were dancing, and I saw someone walk in, and after that I just saw the shots go off,” she said. “We just got down. He was shooting everything from the speakers to anything. We just tried to get out, get behind a car, get behind something. We just tried to take cover. I mean, all we do is kind of sit there and wait and just kind of play dead, I guess.”
She said she and her friends went through the kitchen in the back to escape.
“Everyone kind of trampled out of there as quick as possible through windows and got out of the kitchen. We got out through the back gate through the kitchen onto the loading dock. I know some people got knocked down,” she said.
The suspected shooter was found dead inside the Borderline Bar and Grill where the massacre took place. He opened fired just before midnight and has yet to be identified. A motive is unknown at this time.
At least 12 people are dead and another 15 were taken to local hospitals with varying injuries. One of those killed in the attack was Sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Helus, who had responded to the shooting. The attack occurred during “college country night” at the bar.
“It is a horrific scene in there. There is blood everywhere,” said Sheriff Geoff Dean at a press conference after the attack.
