A gunman opened fire inside a crowded country-music bar in a Southern California shooting, killing 12 people, including a sheriff’s deputy who had rushed inside to confront the shooter at 23:20 local time on Wednesday.
At least 200 people were reportedly inside the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks about 65km north-west of Los Angeles. The bar was hosting a student line-dancing night.
Police named the suspect as 28-year-old Ian David Long.
Earlier this year, police mental health professionals cleared him after he was found behaving “irrationally” at his home, said authorities.
Witnesses reported using barstools to break windows in a desperate attempt to escape. Ventura county sheriff Geoff Dean described a traumatic scene. “It’s a horrific scene in there,” Dean said. “There’s blood everywhere.”
President Donald Trump said on Twitter that he had been briefed on the shooting, and praised the “great bravery shown by police,” adding: “God bless all of the victims and families of the victims.”
Police say he used a legally owned .45 calibre Glock semi-automatic handgun, which had an extended magazine that is illegal in the state of California.
The extended magazine allowed the gun to carry more than its typical 11-bullet capacity.
Police say they do not yet know how many shots were fired, or whether the gunman reloaded during the attack.
This latest horrific shooting comes just 13 months after 58 people were killed at a country music festival in Las Vegas, when a lone gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
