At least a dozen people were shot dead and several more were injured by a gunman inside a Thousand Oaks, CA, bar, authorities said Thursday.
Investigators say the gunman walked into the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks and started throwing smoke bombs and shooting into the crowd of mostly college-age patrons. Video obtained by the Associated Press shows several shots heard at the shooting scene late Wednesday evening.
A Ventura County sheriff’s deputy, who was among the first on the scene, was shot multiple times and died at the hospital, officials said.
The suspected gunman, reportedly identified as 29-year-old David Ian Long, also died, Ventura County sheriff’s Sgt. Eric Buschow said, although it wasn’t clear how.
About 30 shots were fired. Witnesses said the shooter wore a black trench coat and glasses.
It was “college night” at the bar in Thousand Oaks, about 10 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
Patrons described a chaotic scene of panic as they tried to escape the building or hide from the gunman. Others used chairs to break windows to escape. The country western bar has a large dance floor and is known for having large events.
“The gunman was throwing smoke grenades all over the place,” a witness told reporters. “I saw him point to the back of the cash register … and he just kept firing. I ran out the front door. There was probably three or four [shots].”
Another witness said the gunman was shooting people at close range.
A woman who didn’t give her name said she got trampled on in the chaos.
“All of the sudden, you just hear, bang bang, bang,” she said. “And it kind of paused for a second and everybody kind of just like stopped, cause it was like, ‘What?’ The music was still going. And then it just started going bang, bang, bang, bang, bang and everybody ducked down and started running.”
United Press International contributed to this report.
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