Ex-Marine kills 12 in ‘horrific’ mass shooting at California bar

Los Angeles, November 8 

A US Marine veteran dressed in black sprayed bullets inside a crowded dance bar popular with college students Wednesday night, killing at least 12 persons, including a police officer, in Thousand Oaks city in California, in one of the ‘horrific’ mass shooting incidents in the US.

The gunman, who also injured nearly two dozen others, was found dead inside the Borderline Bar and Grill on the outskirts of Los Angeles.

Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean identified the gunman as 28-year-old Ian David Long, a retired Marine who served in Afghanistan. The suspect used a .45 caliber Glock handgun during the shooting, Dean said.

Long, who shot himself, was dead when officers made entry into the bar, Dean said as he described the shooting incident as ‘horrific’.

He said the motive of the shooter is still unclear. He was known to authorities for minor crimes. The shooter was on active duty with the US Marine Corps from August 2008 to March 2013, according to Department of Defence records. He also served in Afghanistan from November 2010 to June 2011.

Twenty-one persons hurt have been treated and released from area hospitals. President Donald Trump said he has been ‘fully briefed on the terrible shooting in California’. — PTI