Gunman kills 12 in 'horrific' mass shooting at Thousand Oaks bar packed with college

A gunman threw smoke bombs and rained bullets on a crowd of hundreds inside a Thousand Oaks bar that is popular with college students Wednesday night, leaving 12 dead including a Sheriff’s sergeant shot trying to stop the carnage.


The massacre occurred at the Borderline Bar & Grill, with the assailant firing wildly into the crowd.

In addition to the dead, 10 other people may have been injured, according to Sheriff Geoff Dean, who added that it’s too early to know if the shooter took his own life.

The gunman burst into the bar around 11:20 p.m., cloaked in all black.

Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Ron Helus and a California Highway Patrol officer entered the bar first and were met with gunfire from the suspect, whose identity was not immediately known. Helus was shot several times and died at an area hospital early Thursday morning, according to Dean.

Helus, a 29-year veteran of the sheriff’s department, was planning to retire next year. Dean said he died “a hero.”

He is survived by a son and his wife, whom he called before entering the bar, Dean said.

“It’s a horrific incident,” Dean said. “It’s part of the horrors that are happening in our country and everywhere, and I think it’s impossible to put any logic or sense to the senseless.

“This community in my 41 years had never experienced anything like this," he added.

Witnesses reported a horrifying scene as gunfire echoed through the club and those inside ran for cover, in some cases using chairs to break windows to escape the building. Others hid in bathrooms and an attic as they frantically called loved ones who were hearing reports of the shooting.

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The Country music industry is reeling from news of another mass shooting, this time at a CALIFORNIA Country nightclub last night (11/7) during College Night, where at least 12 people were killed when a gunman opened fire at BORDERLINE BAR & GRILL in THOUSAND OAKS, CA at around 11p (PT).

A VENTURA COUNTY Sheriff’s Deputy was among the victims, according to CNN. Another dozen people were injured. The suspected shooter is among the dead. THE DAILY BEAST is reporting that some ROUTE 91 survivors were at the BORDERLINE when the shooting occurred.

Witnesses say bar patrons were line dancing when the shooting began in a bar packed with patrons for College Night. VENTURA COUNTY Sheriff GEOFF DEAN described the scene as “horrific.”

iHEARTMEDIA nationally syndicated personality BOBBY BONES tweeted, “So sad. Hate that people are living this.” CUMULUS nationally syndicated "NASH NIGHTS LIVE" co-host SHAWN PARR tweeted, “Not acceptable!!! My kids know some of these people, and it’s been a loooong morning so far. Not good. Praying for our officer and all those that lost their lives.”

Another mass shooting, the OCTOBER 2017 LAS VEGAS massacre at the ROUTE 91 HARVEST FESTIVAL, also hit the Country music community particularly hard.

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