THOUSAND OAKS, California - The fatal shooting of a dozen people at a Western-themed bar in Thousand Oaks, California, inspired hundreds of area residents to line up for hours on Thursday to donate blood for the wounded.
The blood drive drew at least 300 people to a trailer parked outside a Catholic high school. The line snaked down the driveway and along the street.
The blood drive has been scheduled before the massacre late on Wednesday at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, which had a reputation as one of the country's safest cities.
The big turnout followed a call for donations after the shooting. On a normal day, fewer than 60 people might be expected to turn out, school officials said.
“It just shows great community spirit, it shows people helping people, it doesn’t matter the color of their skin, where they’re from, it doesn’t matter,” said Steven Peisner, 56.
Law enforcement officials said 10 to 15 people went to hospitals with injuries, including at least one with gunshot wounds. The suspected shooter was found inside the bar with a fatal gunshot wound.
Peisner, a regular blood donor from nearby Calabasas, wore a leather vest festooned with metal pins commemorating the dozens of gallons of blood platelets he has donated over the years.
A number of young people in line said they had some connection to the victims or survivors of the shooting.
Delaney Kenney, 17, who was in line, said her brother was a friend of a woman who died in the shooting.
“He’s pretty devastated,” said Kenney, who attends a local high school.
Aaron Lacombe, 23, of Thousand Oaks, said he thought he might have known one of the victims from his days at California Lutheran University. He also has been to the bar, which he described as an “upbeat” place.
“I grew up in this community, went to school in this community, so I kind of felt the obligation to get out here and do what I could,” Lacombe said.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
THOUSAND OAKS, California - Shock and sadness loomed over the Housley family as their kin, Alaina, was identified among the 12 victims in the Borderline Bar and Grill massacre earlier this week.
The 18-year-old Filipino American recently moved to the area to study in Pepperdine University, the same school where her parents met.
"Words can’t describe our grief over losing our daughter, Alaina," Alaina's father, Arick Housley, said in a statement.
"She was everything we could hope for in a child: kind, smart, beautiful and respectful," he said.
Housley also described his daughter as "a mock trial lover" who enjoyed public debates.
"She would have enjoyed the public debate that is certain to happen after this tragedy, but she would have insisted that it be respectful with an eye toward solving these senseless shootings," Housley said.
"It’s time for leadership in our country to step up," he said.
The family found out about the teen's death in the middle of the night, after a day of searching and hoping, Alaina's maternal grandfather, Ernesto Punzalan, told ABS-CBN News.
"We were hoping she just went somewhere because of the incident but unfortunately it turns out she was one of the victims," Punzalan said.
"Her dad and her mom were there for 4 years and we never had any case like this. This is really a shocking incident," he said.
Punzalan said he last saw his granddaughter in April at her high school graduation and was supposed to meet her during her recital before Christmas.
"It's very unfortunate. She played piano and violin," he said.
"She’s a nice girl, she’s academically extraordinary, she’s involved in all school activities, and athletics also academic and class activities extra curricular activities," he said.
"She has been a very good girl and I hope she will rest in peace," he said.
Pepperdine University held a prayer service for Alaina, Thursday afternoon.
The 18-year old and 11 others were killed by a lone gunman who stormed a crowded bar, Wednesday evening.
Authorities are still looking into the motive of the mass shooting incident.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
THOUSAND OAKS, United States - A gunman killed 12 people, including a police officer, when he opened fire in a country music bar packed with college students in California, officials and witnesses said Thursday.
Police said the gunman was found dead inside the bar on the outskirts of Los Angeles although it was not immediately clear if he was killed by officers or shot himself.
Speaking at press conference in the wee hours of Thursday, a sheriff said that around a dozen other people had been injured. He said the motive of the shooting and the identity of the shooter were not known.
It was the second mass shooting in America in less than two weeks.
Witnesses said that the gunman, who was wearing a black trenchcoat, throw several smoke grenades inside the Borderline Bar and Grill before he started he shooting at around 11:20pm on Wednesday night.
"It's a horrific scene in there. There is blood everywhere," Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean told reporters.
"We have no idea if there is a terrorism link to this or not. As you know, these are ongoing investigations and that information will come out as soon as we are able to determine exactly who the suspect was and what motive he might have had for this horrific event."
"Nothing has led me to believe or the FBI there is a terrorism link here. We certainly will look at that option."
Dean said that the dead police officer, who was named as Ron Helus and had been on the force for 29 years, was among the first on the scene.
"They found 11 victims that had been killed," said Dean of the first response unit before detailing that the death of Helus brought the toll to 12, not including the gunman.
The venue in the quiet, upscale Thousand Oaks suburb had been hosting an event for college students, with possibly several hundred young people in attendance, Captain Garo Kuredjian of the Ventura County Sheriff's office said earlier.
Matt Wennerstron, a 20 year old college student and regular at the bar, said the shooter fired a short-barreled pistol that apparently had a 10-15 round magazine.
"It was just semi-automatic, as many shots as he could pull, and then when it started to reload that's when we got people out of there and I didn't look back."
He said he and others smashed their way out of the bar onto a balcony and then jumped down to safety. "One bar stool and straight through a window," he told reporters.
TV footage showed SWAT teams surrounding the bar, with distraught revelers milling around and using their cell phones as lights from police cars flashed.
Holden Harrah, a young man who saw the incident, cried as he told CNN that a place where he goes every week to have fun with friends had been a scene of carnage.
"A gentleman walked in the front door and shot the girl that was behind the counter. I don't know if she is alive," he said.
- 'He shot a lot' -
The Los Angeles Times quoted a law enforcement official as saying at least 30 shots had been fired.
An unnamed witness told the newspaper that someone ran into the bar around 11:30 pm and started shooting what looked to be a black pistol.
"He shot a lot, at least 30 times. I could still hear gunshots after everyone left," the Times quoted the man as saying.
It was the latest chapter in America's epidemic of gun violence.
Only 10 days ago a gunman killed 11 worshipers at a synagogue in Pittsburgh.
That shooting was politically sensitive: the suspect, Robert Bowers, who said he wanted to kill Jews, argued that a Jewish advocacy group had been aiding a Central American migrant caravan denounced repeatedly by President Donald Trump in the run-up to Tuesday's midterm election.
Last year a country music festival called Route 91 in Las Vegas was the scene of the worst mass shooting in modern US history. A gunman shooting from the 32 floor of a hotel and casino with high power weapons killed 58 people.
Carl Edgar, a 24 year old regular at the Thousand Oaks club, said he was in the bar with about 20 friends and had not been able to reach some of them since the shooting. They may have turned their phones off, he said.
"A lot of my friends survived Route 91," he told the Times. "If they survived that, they will survive this.”
source: news.abs-cbn.com
WASHINGTON - A gunman barged into a large, crowded Los Angeles-area country music bar and dance hall and opened fire late Wednesday, wounding at least 11 people including a police officer, US police said.
The venue in a quiet, upscale residential suburb was hosting an event for college students, with possibly several hundred young people in attendance, Captain Garo Kuredjian of the Ventura County Sheriff's office said.
Witnesses told CNN the attacker had a large handgun, wore a black trench coat and glasses and threw smoke grenades inside the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks.
Kuredjian said at around 0915 GMT that the shooter was still confined inside the premises, adding that he did not know if he had been subdued or shot.
TV footage showed SWAT teams surrounding the bar, with distraught revelers milling around and using their cell phones as lights from police cars flashed.
Holden Harrah, a young man who saw the incident, cried as he told CNN that a place where he goes every week to have fun with friends had been a scene of carnage.
"A gentleman walked in the front door and shot the girl that was behind the counter. I don't know if she is alive," he said.
Police who responded to reports of a shooting rushed to the scene and engaged the gunman, said Kuredjian.
A deputy sheriff is among the 11 wounded and the injury toll could rise, he added.
The Los Angeles Times quoted a law enforcement official as saying at least 30 shots had been fired.
An unnamed witness told the newspaper that someone ran into the bar around 11:30 pm and started shooting what looked to be a black pistol.
"He shot a lot, at least 30 times. I could still hear gunshots after everyone left," the Times quoted the man as saying.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
