California Shooting: Ex-US Marine suspect in mass shooting, 12 killed

A former U.S. Marine combat veteran opened fire in a Los Angeles area bar and dance hall filled with college students, killing 12 people in a mass shooting. He is suspected to have mental health issues.

The shooting began at 23:20 local time on Wednesday in Thousand Oaks about 40 miles (65km) north-west of Los Angeles. At least 200 people were reportedly inside the Borderline Bar and Grill, which was hosting a student line-dancing night.

Police named the suspect as 28-year-old Ian David Long.

Paul Delacourt, assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles FBI office, said it was too early to speculate on the shooter’s motives but that he appeared to have acted alone.

“We will be sure to paint a picture of the state of mind of the subject and do our best to identify a motivation,” Delacourt said, adding that the FBI would investigate any possible “radicalization” or links to militant groups.

Long opened fire, seemingly at random, inside the Western-themed bar at about 11:30 p.m. PST (0730 GMT Thursday), using a .45 caliber Glock handgun equipped with a high-capacity magazine, Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said.

Long was in the Marine Corps from 2008 to 2013, reaching the rank of corporal and serving as a machine gunner in Afghanistan, and the sheriff said he may have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Obviously, he had something going on in his head that would cause him to do something like this,” Dean said.