The 12 lives that were cut short at the Borderline Bar and Grill

Helus, a sergeant, was set to retire next year after 29 years’ service with the Ventura County Sheriff ’s Department. Before he went to the scene of the shootings, Wednesday evening had been just another busy night for him, supporting deputies on every call that he could, his colleague Julie Novak said.

Helus, who was the first officer on the scene, was shot multiple times when he entered the bar and attempted to stop the rampage.

Sparks was a student at Moorpark College, and her death was confirmed by United Methodist Church in Westlake Village.

She was a gifted dancer and artist, her friend Sarah Penrose said. The two met at a Bible study class at a community church. Sparks frequently served at the church.

Her friends paid tribute online to a “sweet, amazing soul”.

The wrestling team at Royal High School in Thousand Oaks confirmed that Adler, its former coach, had been killed. Adler, who worked with the team as a strength coach several years ago, was in the process of changing careers, but still found time for coaching.

One of his students wrote on his Facebook account, “He was positive, motivational and truly wanted the best for the people around him.”

This victim’s brother, Aidan Dingman, wrote in a tribute on Instagram that the family had raced to the scene of the shootings after learning about them. They had tried to get in touch with Blake for hours, but finally received confirmation that he had died, along with his friend Jake Dunham.

“Blake, I love you so much and I miss you more than you can imagine,” his brother wrote.

Manrique, who was a Marine Corps veteran, was meeting a group of friends at the bar.

After serving as a radio operator in the Marines, he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2007 before joining a veterans’ nonprofit organization in 2012 to help provide financial planning assistance for mental health diagnoses.

His friends said Manrique was dedicated to serving others during his military career and beyond.

The 21-year-old lived in Newbury Park, California. His father, Ken Dunham, told reporters his son had gone to the bar to play pool with his friend, Blake Dingman.

Both Dingman and Dunham were keen off-road drivers.

The group No Sways Offroad organized a memorial meeting in honor of its “fallen brothers”.

Orfanos’ mother confirmed that her son was among the dead.

Susan Orfanos said he had survived the mass shootings at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas last year, but this time he did not come home. His mother now wants to see change in the gun laws.

“He didn’t come home this time, and I don’t want prayers. I don’t want thoughts. I want gun control.”

Morisette worked on the front desk at Borderline Bar and Grill.

Pictures that she posted of herself online showed a woman with a ready smile.

“Kristina was always the nicest girl,” said Brandon Bohning, 19, who grew up with Morisette. “She rarely had a frown on her face. She always had a positive attitude about everything. She never picked on anyone.”

California Lutheran University identified Meek as one of the victims. Chris Kimball, the university president, said the 23-yearold, who had recently graduated, had heroically saved lives in the incident before falling victim to the gunman.

Meek was a criminal justice and criminology major who worked in the Veterans Resource Office for two years. He planned events and helped veteran students, said Jenn Zimmerman, the university’s veterans’ coordinator.

An aunt and uncle of Housley’s confirmed their niece died in the shootings.

Housley had recently started her freshman year at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.

“Alaina was an incredible young woman with so much life ahead of her and we are devastated that her life was cut short in this manner,” her aunt and uncle said.

Coffman went to the Borderline Bar and Grill most Wednesday nights to line dance.

His father, Jeff Coffman, confirmed that his son had been killed. “His name is Cody Coffman and he is my firstborn son,” he told reporters.

“Cody was the big brother that my kids needed,” he said, fighting back tears.

He added that his son had been preparing to join the army.

Meza, known to his family as Marky, “was a loving and wonderful young man who was full of life and ambition,” a family statement said. “His family is devastated by the loss.”

The statement added that Meza would have celebrated his 21st birthday on November 19.