Witness says the shooter \u2018had a plan to kill a lot of people\u2019 at Borderline Bar and Grill.<\/b>
\nThe first person shot by the tall man in the black hood was working security outside the nightclub\u2019s front door, boosting the odds that what he planned next would not be interrupted.
After that, around 11 p.m. Wednesday, witnesses say Ian David Long seemed to act randomly. The 28-year-old Marine veteran simply walked through the Borderline Bar & Grill and seemed to point his Glock.45 and shoot whatever and whoever caught his eye.
When the carnage was over, 12 victims and the shooter were dead. The victims included a Ventura County Sheriff\u2019s deputy, Sgt. Ron Helus, who ran into the club when he received a radio call about shots. At least a dozen others were injured.
MORE: See full coverage of the Thousand Oaks mass shooting
Police and sheriff\u2019s deputies from a half-dozen nearby agencies entered the club at about 11:40 p.m., finding bodies of victims, and Long, who authorities said took his own life. They also found survivors huddled in restrooms and the club\u2019s attic, still avoiding the shooter.
\u201cLike Hell,\u201d was how Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean answered when asked how the scene looked when authorities entered.
Many of the dead were young adults. The country-themed Borderline promoted Wednesday as \u201cCollege Night,\u201d and many of the estimated 150 to 200 people inside as the mass shooting unfolded are students at nearby colleges, including Cal Lutheran, Pepperdine, Moorpark and Cal State Channel Islands. At least some also are survivors of another mass shooting \u2013 the 2017 massacre at the Route 91 Harvest Festival music show in Las Vegas, which took 58 lives.
One of those at the club, possibly the man shot first by Long, was Justin Meek, 22, a recent graduate of Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.
The school confirmed Meek\u2019s death Thursday. And at least some social media reports said he was working as the club\u2019s bouncer on Wednesday night, adding that he saved \u201cmultiple lives, trying to get people out\u2026 after being shot first at the door.\u201d
Though Ventura County Sheriff Dean said it was unclear if Long had guns other than the Glock with him during the rampage, he confirmed that Long used at least one other weapon during the attack \u2013 a smoke bomb.
Survivors said the smoke and noise added to the chaos, and suggested that was Long\u2019s intent.
\u201cAt one point, when I was on the ground, I turned around and saw a smoke bomb \u2026 a lot of sparks and just smoke,\u201d said Sarah DeSon, a student at Cal Lutheran who was in the club when the shooting started.
\u201cI said, \u2018OK, someone had a plan to kill a lot of people.\u2019\u201d
Moments later, DeSon said she got out of the club and started running. At one point she fell down and, while on the ground, her panic rose.
\u201cI thought, \u2018What if he\u2019s behind you? If he is, you\u2019re dead.\u2019\u201d
As DeSon and others sneaked out through the club\u2019s doors, others escaped Long by using barstools to break windows crawl through the openings.
Witnesses suggested some victims, such as Meek and Sgt. Helus, also tried to help other victims.
A woman outside the club said she saw survivors huddled behind bushes and cars, including some who she described as \u201chalf-naked\u201d because they\u2019d used their clothing to slow the bleeding of others who had been shot.
Others said some of the five off-duty officers who were in the club at the time of the incident also worked to help victims and protect others from being shot. One parent of a survivor said an officer stood between Long and some patrons. It\u2019s unclear if the officer survived.
The massacre \u2013 the worst in the United States in only the past 12 days \u2013 provoked sympathy and response from around the country.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who on Tuesday was elected to be the state\u2019s next governor, ordered all flags at half-staff in California. And President Donald Trump used Twitter to thank law enforcement specifically, writing \u201cGreat bravery shown by police\u2026 God bless all of the victims and families of the victims\u2026. \u201c
Trump was referencing Helus and an as-yet unidentified officer with the California Highway Patrol, who were the first two to arrive at the scene following numerous 911 calls.
Sheriff Dean said Helus was talking to his wife over the phone, as he did several times a shift, when he learned of the 911 calls from the club, telling her \u201cI gotta go, I love you.\u201d
When they got to the club, Helus and the CHP officer heard gunshots and both entered. Once inside, Dean said the pair \u201cimmediately exchanged gunfire\u201d with the shooter. When Helus was struck multiple times, the CHP officer pulled him out to try to save his life. Helus later was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Dean \u2013 who will leave his elected position as Ventura County Sheriff on Friday \u2013 said Helus, 54, was a 29-year veteran who planned to retire next year. He is survived by his wife and adult son.
It\u2019s unclear if Long had a coherent motive, but Dean said he didn\u2019t think the choice to shoot at the Borderline was completely random.
In April, Dean said, his officers were called to Long\u2019s home, in Newbury Park, because Long was acting \u201csomewhat irate, a little irrationally.\u201d But the deputies and a mental health crew also called to the scene didn\u2019t feel at the time that Long was qualified to be taken in on an involuntary hold.
Neighbors said Long, who lived in Orange County before moving to Newbury Park, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder .
The Marine Corps said Thursday that Long had been deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 and served as a machine gunner. At the time that Long served, the Marine Corps was sustaining heavy casualties in the region. Long had two military service awards, including one that military officials say is given only for \u201coutstanding heroism in action.\u201d
Many who survived Long\u2019s rampage described it as a battle, of sorts.
DeSon, who saw the smoke bomb, said she was \u201cgrateful, so grateful,\u201d to have survived. She added that her plan was to go home and, once there, \u201cI\u2019m giving my family a lot of hugs.\u201d<\/p>\n

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