'Horrific, blood everywhere': 12 dead after 29-yr-old gunman open fires into crowded California bar
Thirteen people, including a Ventura County Sheriff's deputy and the gunman himself, are those confirmed dead in the shooting that unfolded inside the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks on Wednesday night. It is currently unclear whether the shooter took his own life or whether he was shot and killed.
The shooter has been identified as 29-year-old David Ian Long. Witnesses described him as a heavily-tattooed white man who was wearing a black trench coat and a black bandana at the time. Long was using a Glock .45 that was legally bought in Ventura County, and also threw smoke grenades to confuse the crowds.
Law enforcement was called to the bar at around 11:30 p.m. local time on reports of an active shooter in the area. Described as bearded and wearing a hat and glasses, the shooter was reportedly armed with a handgun and shot a security guard standing at the entrance before entering and throwing smoke grenades inside.
Witnesses say at least 30 shots were fired inside into the crowd before panicked revelers began using furniture to break windows in their desperate bids to escape. After the bar was cleared by authorities, emergency services could be seen entering and carrying away the injured, one of whom was a female cashier who was working that night.