A shooting at a Southern California bar late Wednesday left at least 13 fatalities and many people wounded when a suspect opened fire at a crowded Borderline Bar & Grill, Ventura county's sheriff said.
The Sheriff's Office Capt. Garo Kuredjian said at a news conference early Thursday that a sheriff's deputy was among the dead.
Kuredjian said the shooter no longer posed a threat to surrounding communities. According to reports, the shooter was shot dead.
Witnesses said a man fired several shots from a handgun before tossing smoke bombs into the crowded bar.
It was college night and country two-step lessons were being offered Wednesday at the Borderline, according to its website.
The shooting took place Thousand Oaks, a city of about 130,000 people about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Los Angeles, just across the county line.
Nick Steinwender, student body president at nearby California Lutheran University, rushed to the scene when he heard about a shooting at the bar where he knew friends and fellow students were inside.
“It was chaos, people jumping out of windows, people hopping over gates to get out” Steinwender told KABC-TV.
He said he heard from people inside that they were hiding in bathrooms and the attic of the bar.
Thousand Oaks mayor Andy Fox told CNN that the city "is considered one of the safest cities in the country."
Source: AP
