California bar shooting leaves 13 dead, including sheriff's sergeant and gunman
A gunman opened fire late Thursday night in a Southern California bar and country music venue. The Ventura County sheriff said the bar was crowded with more than 100 people, many of them college students during the bar's weekly "college night."
The gunman, identified by police as Ian David Long, 28, killed 12 people, including a sheriff's sergeant who responded to the gunfire. Police later found the shooter dead inside the bar, possibly from a self-inflicted wound.
The rampage took place at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
Authorities don't yet know the motive for the shooting.
"There was just young people, like young, 18, 19, 20, just having a great time," said a stepfather who was at the bar with his stepson. "And this maniac came in and started shooting at people for no reason at all."
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Some 2,000 remember victims at vigil
As "Amazing Grace" filled the Fred Kavli Theatre here Thursday night, thousands held up candles to honor those lost in the mass shooting at Borderline Bar and Grill less than 24 hours earlier.
Mayor Rob McCoy led the vigil, Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean received a standing ovation and various religious leaders spoke to comfort mourners inside and outside, reports CBS Los Angeles.
McCoy estimated about 2,000 people attended. He said he hoped it was the first step in healing for the community.
Among the mourners were survivors of the California shooting and the one in Las Vegas in October.
"It's hard to sleep after these kinds of things," said Dani Merrill, who lived through the Vegas massacre and escaped the Borderline bloodshed by running out the loading dock. "You just don't know how to feel.
The Las Vegas shooting killed 58 people and wounded or injured nearly 500 others at a country music concert.
Another vigil is planned in Thousand Oaks Friday night.
Chilling video shows scene inside bar as gunman opened fire
Video shot by a survivor shows the moments of terror as a gunman opened fire inside a crowded California bar, CBS News' Carter Evans reports. It was college night at the Borderline Bar & Grill, a popular country western bar.
"We were at the bar you know having fun, dancing, and then all of a sudden you hear... like the bang bang of gunshots," said one survivor.
Nearly 200 were trapped as celebration turned to chaos. A gunman, dressed in all black and armed with a .45 caliber Glock handgun with an extended magazine, had stormed inside. He first shot a security guard at the front entrance, then deployed smoke bombs inside and opened fire, shooting at random.
Inside, 11 lay dead and panicked patrons scrambled for safety. Some dived through windows while others hid in restrooms.
"Our friends got the bar stools and they starts slamming them against the windows so we could get out... Just so we were able to get out," one person said.
Neighbors recall series of disturbances at shooter's home
Hours after a mass shooting at a California bar, ATF and FBI investigators raided the house where gunman Ian Long lived with his mother, CBS News' John Blackstone reports. Their home is on a suburban street about five miles from the Borderline Bar & Grill, where Long killed 12 people.
In the neighborhood, those who live nearby said he seemed to be frequently angry and unfriendly.
"He wouldn't come out of the house that much. When I did see him drive by, I'd wave and he wouldn't wave back," said Gareth Crites.
The 28-year-old served nearly five years in the Marines, including about seven months of combat duty from November 2010 to June 2011 as a machine-gunner in Afghanistan. He left the military in 2013.
There were rumors Long suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Neighbor Donald Macleud could hear loud arguments across his backyard fence.
"He was a lot worse when he came back from the military," he said.
"I suspected he had a gun there because I heard a gunshot one night, over a year ago," Macleud said.
During one disturbance, neighbor Tom Hanson took action.
"I called the police on him that time, just because I didn't know if he was hurting himself," Hanson said.
"Premature to speculate" on shooter's motive, FBI says
At a Thursday afternoon press conference, the FBI said it is "too premature to speculate on the motivation" of the shooting suspect.
FBI assistant director for the Los Angeles area, Paul Delacourt, said they would be working with local, state and federal law enforcement on the "painstaking process" of going through evidence, including the digital trail.
Delacourt said it is too premature to talk about a specific timeline of the shooting. He said he would not comment on the cause of the suspect's death until an autopsy comes back.
University says victim "heroically saved lives"
Two more victims of the shooting have been identified. California Lutheran University said in a statement that Justin Meek, a 23-year-old recent graduate of the school, "heroically saved lives in the incident."
Alaina Housley also died in the shooting, according to a statement from her aunt and uncle, "Sister Sister" actress Tamera Mowry-Housley and former Fox News correspondent Adam Housley. "Alaina was an incredible young woman with so much life ahead of her and we are devastated that her life was cut short in this manner," the couple said in the statement.
22-year-old victim dreamed of joining military
Jason Coffman identified his son Cody Coffman as one of the shooting victims. Coffman told reporters Thursday morning his son had just turned 22.
"I just want to pray for everybody else that is going to be going through the same situation," Jason Coffman said. "There's many more to come, but for me this is a heart that I'll never get back."
Coffman talked to his son Wednesday night before he headed out the door. "First thing I said was 'please don't drink and drive,'" he said. "Last thing I said was, 'Son, I love you.'"
Cody Coffman dreamed of serving his country and was talking to recruiters about joining the Army, his dad said. He added that his son was a head umpire for a pony baseball league in Camarillo, California, which is near Thousand Oaks.
Cody Coffman had two brothers, aged 8 and 6, and a sister who has not been born yet, his dad said. "This is absolutely going to crush those two boys," Jason Coffman said. "This is not going to be easy for a very long time."
Sergeant spoke with wife before responding to bar
Ventura County Sheriff's Sgt. Ron Helus, who was killed while responding to the shooting, was on the phone with his wife when he was dispatched to the Borderline Bar & Grill, Sheriff Geoff Dean told reporters. Helus would call his wife several times during his shift, Dean said.
"'Hey, I gotta go handle a call, I love you, I'll talk to you later,'" Dean said Helus told his wife. Earlier on "CBS This Morning," Dean said he and Helus were friends.
The sheriff said he had "no doubt" that Helus and a California Highway Patrol officer accompanying him saved lives by engaging with gunman Ian Long. "I've heard anywhere from 150 to 200 people in there. Not that by any means the loss of 13 lives is good, but it could have been much, much worse," Dean said.
Police were called to gunman's house in April
Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said that deputies were called to Ian Long's house in April. "He was somewhat irate, acting a little irrationally," Dean said.
The deputies requested the help of mental-health specialists, who met with Long. Ultimately it was decided to not detain Long for evaluation or treatment, Dean said.
Sheriff says gunman started shooting outside bar
Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said that Ian Long drove to the Borderline Bar & Grill on Wednesday night and opened fire before he entered the nightclub. Long, who had served in the U.S. Marine Corps, used a Glock .45-caliber handgun that he purchased legally, Dean said.
Dean said that investigators do not know Long's motive for carrying out the shooting. Long shot a security guard outside the bar and continued shooting once he entered the club.
"It appears that he turned to the right and shot several of the other security and employees there and then began opening fire inside the nightclub," Dean said.
Earlier on "CBS This Morning," Dean said the scene was "horrific." "When the officers went in, the suspect was already dead, but it was horrific," he said. "There were 11 victims inside plus the suspect and then, in addition, my sergeant that was killed trying to make entry."
Evidence leads police to 28-year-old's house
Police recovered evidence at the scene of the shooting that has led them to a house in Newbury Park, California, which is just outside Thousand Oaks, CBS News has learned. A 28-year-old man lives at the house, and police are trying to determine if that man was the shooter.
Police found the shooter dead inside the Borderline Bar & Grill.
Trump: Responding officers showed "great bravery"
President Trump said police responding to the shooting showed "great bravery." Ventura County Sheriff's Sgt. Ron Helus died going into the Borderline Bar & Grill, Sheriff Geoff Dean said on "CBS This Morning."
Mr. Trump said on Twitter that he had been "fully briefed" on the shooting. "God bless all of the victims and families of the victims," he said.
Sheriff's sergeant died trying to save others
Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said on "CBS This Morning" on Thursday that one of his sergeants died trying to help others. Sheriff's Sgt. Ron Helus went into the Borderline Bar & Grill with a California Highway Patrol officer.
"There's no doubt that him going in, the highway patrol officer going in, helped neutralize whatever threat was going on," Dean said. The sheriff said Helus was a 29-year veteran of the sheriff's office.
"He was my gym buddy," Dean said. "We worked out together. He was a father, a husband, and he died tonight going in to try to save others and made the ultimate sacrifice."
"I just hopped out the window ... and then I just ran"
Before Wednesday night's shooting, the Borderline Bar & Grill was filled with students celebrating "college night," CBS News correspondent Carter Evans reports. They were dancing and having a good time when witnesses said the gunman stormed inside and opened fire.
Witnesses said the gunman shot the bouncer at the front door and then fired multiple rounds inside the bar, reloading and setting off smoke bombs. Ben Campbell said he was dancing when he heard the gunshots and immediately hit the ground.
"The windows broke, and I just hopped out the window," Campbell said. "I was one of the last people out. I didn't see anybody. I didn't see any guns, and then I just ran."