Ex-Marine hero kills 12 in bar shooting
A MASKED gunman who killed 12 people in California was yesterday named by police as a decorated ex-Marine.
Officials said 28-year-old Ian Long shot dead 11 at a student event at a country and western bar on Wednesday along with the first police officer to arrive at the scene.
He is then believed to have turned the gun on himself.
Last night police said they had not found a motive for the mass shooting, although some reports claimed that Long was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, having served in Afghanistan.
Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said: “It’s a horrific scene in there. There’s blood everywhere.”
Witnesses told how the shooter, wearing a black mask with a bandana covering the bottom of his face, let off smoke grenades to confuse the terrified crowd before firing indiscriminately into the dance floor packed with college students attending a line dancing event.
Police said Long used a Glock semi-automatic handgun, which had an extended magazine that allowed it to carry more than its typical 11-bullet capacity.
Among those killed was a police officer one year short of retirement. Sergeant Ron Helus, 54, was the first to arrive at the scene at Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, a Medical teams help a wounded man caught up in the carnage at the bar suburb of Los Angeles at around 11.20pm. The father of one had tried to enter the bar with a highway patrolman when he was shot several times.
Sheriff Dean paid an emotional tribute to the policeman who had served for 29 years and was due to retire next year. “Ron was a hardworking, dedicated sheriff sergeant. He was totally committed,” the sheriff said.
“He gave his all and tonight as I told his wife he died a hero because he went in to save lives. To save other people.”
Sheriff Dean also revealed Long was known to the department following a number of “minor events” in recent years.
In April, police attended his home and found him “somewhat irate” and “acting a little irrationally”. Mental health professionals sent to evaluate him concluded he did not need to be taken into custody.