Twelve people were killed and at least 12 others were wounded Wednesday when a masked man forced his way into a Southern California bar and restaurant and opened fire on those inside, local media reported.
According to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, its deputies responded to a 911 call from the Borderline Bar and Grill, a Country Western-themed establishment in Thousand Oaks, 40 miles west of Los Angeles, at about 11:20 p.m. (local time).
The Ventura County Sheriff's Office confirmed one of the fatalities was a police officer, who was shot multiple times as he was entering the bar, following the 911 call.
The police did not comment on the nature of the injuries sustained by other victims, saying only that the majority of them were minor and that people were able to evacuate themselves from the scene independently.
Ventura County Sherrif Geoff Dean confirmed that the shooter was dead inside the bar. It was unclear how the gunman was killed or what was his motive for the shooting.
FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents were on the scene as well.
The local police said there was no threat to the general public outside the bar.
The bar was crowded with hundreds of patrons who were there for College Country night, with line-dancing, music, drinks and food, witnesses said.
When the shots started, some people smashed windows with chairs to escape, witnesses said.
Social media reports on the incident varied, with some saying that the gunman fired up to 30 times and others reporting fewer shots and saying he tossed a smoke grenade into the crowd.
Thousand Oaks Mayor Andy Fox said law enforcement responded quickly.
"It's my understanding they [the police] neutralized the shooter and identified a number of causalities. I don't know the condition of the victims but … all them have been transported to hospitals," Fox said.
The mayor said that Thousand Oaks "is considered one of the safest cities in the country. We are consistently ranked as one of the highest with respect to the lowest crime rate per capita, we're proud of that. The reality is that these types of incidents can happen really at any place, at any time, even in communities that are considered extremely safe," he added.
Tayler Whitler, 19, said she was inside the bar when a gunman walked in with his face partly covered by something resembling a ski mask, opened fire on a person working the door, then began to shoot people at random.
"It was really, really, really shocking," Whitler said as she stood with her father in the Borderline parking lot. "It looked like he knew what he was doing."
