12 people died in Thousand Oaks, California last night when a gunman entered the Borderline Bar & Grill and opened fire. Approximately 15 people were injured during the attack and were taken to nearby hospitals. Among the victims killed during the attack was Sheriff Deputy Sergeant Ron Helus, a 29-year-old veteran who was due to retire next year and the first to arrive on scene, as well as college students.
The Borderline Bar & Grill was hosting its weekly country music night for college students who are 18 and over. According to police statements, the gunman, Ian David Long, walked up to the bar and shot a security guard who was standing outside the bar before entering. Once he entered the bar, Long shot the employee at the front desk and “just kept firing,” according to one witness. Although law enforcement is unclear about how many rounds were fired during the attack, some witnesses reported hearing as many as 30 shots in total.
The suspect, Ian David Long, was among the 12 people who died, officers believe he took his own life. Long was a 28 years old and served in the Marine Corps from August 2008 to March 2013. Long had a few minor previous interactions with law enforcement including in April when deputies were called to his house for a disturbance. The deputies noticed that Long was acting irrationally that night and called a mental health specialist who cleared Long that same night.
In response to last night’s attack, California Senator Kamala Harris tweeted, “leaders in Congress must act – not some day, but now.”
This attack occurred one week after a mass shooting at Sevilla Nightclub in Riverside, California injured seven people. Recent mass shootings also include the deadliest attack against Jewish people in the U.S. at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh on October 27th.
In 2018, there have been a total of 48,962 shootings in the U.S., including 307 mass shootings. Gun violence is currently the leading cause of premature death in the US, and on October 29, the American College of Physicians (ACP) released new recommendations for doctors on how to reduce gun violence across the country.
An emergency hotline has been established for friends and family who are trying to locate loved ones who were at Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks: (805) 465-6650
Newswire sources: CNN 11/08/18; Buzzfeed News 11/08/18; gunviolencearchives.org; Feminist Newswire 10/29/18; 10/31/18; KTLA 5 10/29/18
