Thousand Oaks gunman killed himself; service set for slain officer

The former Marine who gunned down 12 people at a Southern California bar last week shot and killed himself at the scene, an autopsy confirmed.

Christopher Young, chief medical examiner for Ventura County, said a toxicology study was still being completed to determine whether gunman Ian David Long, 28, had any drugs in his system when he opened fire inside the crowded Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks late Wednesday.

Long killed 11 bar patrons and Ventura County sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Helus, the first officer to respond to the shooting. Helus was shot multiple times after exchanging gunfire with Long.

A memorial service for Helus was set for Thursday. A GoFundMe drive has collected more than $18,000 for the sergeant’s family.

Long, armed with a semiautomatic pistol, killed everyone he shot. More than 20 people were injured by shattered glass and the chaotic scramble to escape the carnage.

Capt. Garo Kuredjian of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said investigators have interviewed hundreds of people but have not yet determined what Long’s motive was for committing “such a heinous attack.”

Authorities were trying to determine whether Long believed a former girlfriend might have been at the bar, which was packed with more than 100 people for college night.

“We’re going to exhaust every investigative means possible,” Kuredjian said. “We won’t know until we see where the evidence leads.”

Long posted on social media during the rampage, according to law enforcement officials. The posts were later removed.

The first call to law enforcement came in at 11:19 p.m. Wednesday, officials said. Officers entered the building at 11:25 p.m. Long first posted on Instagram at 11:24 p.m: “It’s too bad I won’t get to see all the illogical and pathetic reasons people will put in my mouth as to why I did it,” the military veteran said in the post. “Fact is I had no reason to do it, and I just thought .... life is boring so why not?” Long posted, according to ABC News and Buzzfeed.

Three minutes later Long posted: “I hope people call me insane (two smiley face emojis) would that just be a big ball of irony? Yeah... I’m insane, but the only thing you people do after these shootings is ‘hopes and prayers’...or ‘keep you in my thoughts’.”

He added, “... and wonder why these keep happening... – (two smiley face emojis).”