Authorities have identified the suspect in a mass shooting at a Southern California bar as 28-year-old Ian David Long.
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on a shooting at a bar in Southern California (all times local):
7:10 a.m.
Authorities have identified the suspect in a mass shooting at a Southern California bar as 28-year-old Ian David Long.
Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean says Long is believed to have killed himself late Wednesday at the Borderline Bar and Grill in the city of Thousand Oaks.
Dean says his department had several previous contacts with the former Marine including a call to his home in April, when deputies found him acting irate and irrationally.
The sheriff says a mental health crisis team was called at that time and concluded that Long did not need to be taken into custody.
Dean says the other prior encounters were a traffic accident and an incident when he was the victim of a battery at a bar.
Long was found dead in the Borderline Bar and Grill after 12 people were shot to death late Wednesday.
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RELATED: Mass shooting at Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousands Oaks, California
6:50 a.m.
The Southern California bar where a gunman killed 12 people says on its website that it’s been in operation for more than 25 years.
The Borderline Bar and Grill says it has the largest country dance hall and live music venue in Ventura County, which is north of Los Angeles.
The bar was holding its regular « College Country Nights » Wednesday night when the gunman dressed in black opened fire inside the bar.
The bar includes a large dance hall with a stage and a pool room along with several smaller areas for eating and drinking.
It is popular with students from nearby California Lutheran University who enjoy country music.
It is also close to several other universities, including California State University Channel Islands in Camarillo, Pepperdine University in Malibu and Moorpark College in Moorpark.
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6:20 a.m.
California Lutheran University has canceled classes following a shooting at nearby bar where some of the college’s students were attending a country music dance night.
The Cal Lutheran website says the university community is invited to gather Thursday at the school’s chapel.
The university is a short drive from the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks where authorities say a gunman killed 12 people, including a sheriff’s sergeant, Wednesday night. The gunman was also found dead.
Cal Lutheran has more than 3,000 undergraduate students and more than 1,300 graduate students.
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6 a.m.
The Borderline Bar & Grill is about a 10-minute drive from California Lutheran University, where students started receiving messages about the shooting right after it started.
Cal Lutheran student body president Nick Steinwender told KTLA-TV he and his roommate went to the scene to offer rides back to campus and moral support and there were already other students from the university there.
Steinwender says « it just feels like it’s an attack on our community. »
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5:15 a.m.
A law enforcement official says authorities have identified the gunman and the handgun he used to kill 12 people at a Southern California bar.
The official told The Associated Press the man was 29 years old and deployed a smoke device and used a .45-caliber handgun when he opened fire inside the Borderline Bar & Grill late Wednesday in Thousand Oaks, north of Los Angeles.
The official declined to provide any other details, speaking on condition of anonymity for lack of authorization to publicly discuss the investigation.
Authorities and witnesses say the gunman wore dark clothing and didn’t say anything as he fired inside the bar. Hundreds of people fled, some breaking windows and jumping out of second-floor windows to escape.
— Associated Press Writer Michael Balsamo in Washington.
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5:05 a.m.
Video accessed by The Associated Press shows gripping images at the scene of a mass shooting at a California bar.
Several rounds of gunfire can be heard as a terrified witness runs out of the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks.
Police cars are seen arriving and an armed officer takes up position outside the bar. Three men rush out carrying a bloodied fourth individual. They try and stem the bleeding of what appears to be a gunshot wound.
A sheriff says 13 people were killed, including a sheriff’s sergeant and the gunman.
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5 a.m.
President Donald Trump is offering condolences after a mass shooting at a Southern California bar.
Trump said on Twitter Thursday that he has been « fully briefed on the terrible shooting. » He praised law enforcement, saying « Great bravery shown by police » and said « God bless all of the victims and families of the victims. »
A gunman opened fire on a crowd at a country dance bar holding a weekly « college night » Wednesday night. The mass shooting killed 12 people and sent hundreds fleeing in terror. The gunman was later found dead at the scene.
Law enforcement said the dead from the shooting included 11 people inside the bar and a sheriff’s sergeant who was the first officer inside the door.
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4:55 a.m.
A survivor of the California bar shooting says the gunman was wearing a black hoodie and holding a handgun as he opened fire.
Cole Knapp is a freshman at Moorpark College and was inside the Borderline Bar & Grill when the shooting began.
He says he tried to get as many people to cover as he could. He says he fled through an exit door to a closed patio where he told people « everybody get over the fence as quickly as you can, » and followed them over.
Then he says he found a highway patrol officer nearby who just happened to pull someone over, and he screamed to him, « there’s a shooter in there! »
Knapp says the officer « was kind of in disbelief, » then saw he was serious. He says he has friends who haven’t been accounted for.
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4:15 a.m.
Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean choked back tears as he described the sheriff’s sergeant killed in a mass shooting at a California bar.
The sheriff said Sgt. Ron Helus undoubtedly saved lives by going in to confront the gunman. He says Helus was the first responder and was immediately hit with multiple gunshots.
He says a highway patrolman pulled out Helus and waited for a SWAT team as scores of other officers converged on the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks at about 11:20 p.m.
By the time they entered the bar again the gunfire had stopped, and they found 12 people dead inside, including the gunman. He says Helus was later declared dead at a hospital.
Dean says Helus was his longtime friend and gym partner and planned to retire soon after 29 years with the force. He leaves a wife and son.
The sheriff says he told Helus’ wife « he died a hero because he went in to save lives. »
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3:50 a.m.
Survivors of the bar shooting are describing moments of panic and heroism as a gunman turned a dance floor into a killing zone.
Nineteen-year-old Erika Sigman found herself hiding with a group of strangers, and they were holding her hands.
She says « there is a lot of bad in this world, but there is also a lot of good and people will help. »
A sheriff says 13 people were killed at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, including a sheriff’s sergeant and the gunman.
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3 a.m.
A sheriff says 13 people are dead, including a sheriff’s sergeant and the gunman, after a shooting inside a crowded Southern California bar late Wednesday.
Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean says sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Helus responded to the scene and was shot after he entered the building. He died at a hospital early Thursday.
Authorities did not say how the gunman died.
Dean says around 10 other people were shot and wounded. No other information on the victims was immediately known.
Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Garo Kuredjian said the first reports of shots fired came around 11:20 p.m. at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, which is about 40 miles west of Los Angeles.
The bar’s website says its hosts « College Country Night » every Wednesday.
