Thousands honor deputy killed in SoCal bar shooting
WESTLAKE VILLAGE — Peace officers from across California made their way to Ventura County on Thursday morning to honor fallen sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Helus, who died in a mass shooting at a Thousand Oaks bar last week.
Police stopped traffic for Helus’ procession to Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village, where officers from Torrance, Long Beach State University, Pacific Grove, Novato, Inglewood and elsewhere came to honor Helus, removing their hats as they entered the church.
At least 4,000 people were in the church for the memorial. The sanctuary, which seats 2,900, was packed and more people were crowded outside.
Shortly after the memorial began, Billy Ray Cyrus played guitar and sang “Amazing Grace,” accompanied by a choir. He asked everyone present to join in. He then sang his patriotic ballad “Some Gave All,” which includes the words, “All gave some, some gave all.”
He called Helus a hero who “touched the world.”
Pastor Steve Day said the event was a celebration of Helus.
“This is an important day to come and to show our gratitude for his life,” Day said.
Many, even though they didn’t know Helus personally, came to thank him for his bravery and to honor him.
Brandon Apelian, 21, stood outside the church and gripped a blue flag that rippled in the wind. The California Lutheran University student knew Justin Meek, the bar’s bouncer, who was killed in the shooting. Meek had recently graduated from Cal Lutheran with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
Apelian said that, growing up in Ventura County, he felt that law enforcement “had my back.”
“Now it’s my turn to show them that I have theirs too,” he said.
The many people attending the memorial jammed traffic. At the church, one woman approached group after group of officers, saying thank you to each one.
Helus rushed to the Borderline Bar and Grill immediately after the 911 call came in at 11:20 p.m. on Nov. 7. Inside the bar, the gunman was shooting. Helus went in through the front door and was cut down.
A California Highway Patrol officer eventually pulled Helus out of the line of fire. He died at Los Robles Regional Medical Center. Twelve others were killed that night, including the gunman.
Helus, a Ventura County sheriff’s veteran, had been on the phone with his wife, Karen, when the 911 calls began to pour in.
“I gotta go handle a call,” he told his wife. “I love you. I’ll talk to you later.”