THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (CelebrityAccess) Borderline, a live music/dance bar in Thousand Oaks, Calif., is the site of a mass shooting with at least 13 reported dead so far, including a sheriff’s sergeant.
Hundreds of people, many students from three different colleges – California Lutheran University, Pepperdine University and California State University Channel Islands – were attending the College Country Night, which includes “2 Step lessons w/Bill Elmer” followed by line dancing when shots rang out around 11:20 p.m., according to Ventura County police.
A gunman threw smoke bombs on the crowd before raining fire upon them, according to authorities. The assailant, Ian David Long, died in the incident; it was not immediately clear if Long took his own life.
He apparently walked in, “turned to his right” and shot several of the employees and security guards before opening fire, according to a press conference. Long, a marine veteran, bought his weapon legally. Long “was known to neighbors in his Newbury Park neighborhood as a troubled ex-Marine who appeared to have serious mental health problems,” the Los Angeles Times said.
“It is a horrific scene in there. There is blood everywhere,” Sheriff Geoff Dean said in a Thursday press conference. Dean is leaving his position said he will “no longer be the Sheriff, tomorrow, at midnight.”
The venue had on its schedule a 90s tribute band, Operation 90s, tomorrow night, regional country band Highway Starr on Friday, Nov. 16, and Yachtley Crew Nov. 30.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Helus and a California Highway Patrol officer entered the bar first and were met with gunfire from the suspect, according to authorities. Helus was shot several times and died at an area hospital.
Josh Coaly told the Los Angeles Times said he received a text from a friend who was at the bar saying there was a mass shooting. That friend was at Route 91 Harvest last year when 58 people were killed by gunfire, according to Coaly.
Chandler Gunn told Fox News that one of the people who works at the bar is a survivor of the event.
“A lot of people in the Route 91 situation go here,” Gunn said. “There’s people that live a whole lifetime without seeing this, and then there’s people that have seen it twice.”
Carl Edgar also told the Times that he had about 20 friends in the bar, many of whom attended Route 91.
“As far as I know, all of my friends are OK, safe,” he said. “There are a few people we can’t get a hold of, but in these situations, people usually turn off their phones to be safe so I’m not gonna get too worried. A lot of my friends survived Route 91. If they survived that, they’ll survive this.”
The initial 911 calls came in last night at approximately 11:20 p.m. Dean said the attacker’s motivation has not been linked to terrorism. He reportedly drove his mother’s car to the bar did not say anything before opening fire.
Police said at least 30 shots were fired and the gunman, dressed in black and armed with a Glock .45-caliber handgun, used a smoke device to disorient and confuse his targets (update: Dean says there are two witnesses who “allude” to a smoke bomb).
I have been fully briefed on the terrible shooting in California. Law Enforcement and First Responders, together with the FBI, are on scene. 13 people, at this time, have been reported dead. Likewise, the shooter is dead, along with the first police officer to enter the bar….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 8, 2018
“I have been fully briefed on the terrible shooting in California. Law Enforcement and First Responders, together with the FBI, are on scene. 13 people, at this time, have been reported dead. Likewise, the shooter is dead, along with the first police officer to enter the bar,” President Donald Trump tweeted. “Great bravery shown by police. California Highway Patrol was on scene within 3 minutes, with first officer to enter shot numerous times. That Sheriff’s Sergeant died in the hospital. God bless all of the victims and families of the victims. Thank you to Law Enforcement.”
➡@JerryBrownGov Statement on Thousand Oaks Shooting: pic.twitter.com/4P2UvITXTv
— Gov. Brown Press Office (@GovPressOffice) November 8, 2018
