Three people were killed, including the gunman, and six others were injured Wednesday evening in a shooting at a famed biker bar in Orange County.
The gunman, a retired Ventura County Police Department sergeant, was shot and killed within minutes by responding Orange County Sheriff’s deputies.
The mass shooting occurred at about 7 p.m. Wednesday at Cook’s Corner in the 19100 block of Santiago Canyon Road.
KCAL reported the gunman was a retired Ventura Police Department sergeant who opened fire as a result of a domestic disturbance with his wife at the bar, and the wife was one of the victims who was killed. KCAL reported the gunman was with the Ventura department from 1984 until 2014.
Of the six people injured, five of them had gunshot wounds, Orange County Fire Authority Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy confirmed at an 11 p.m. news conference Wednesday. The nature of the sixth person’s injuries was unknown.
All six were taken to Providence Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, where two were listed in critical condition and four others were considered stable, according to a statement from the hospital.
Sheriff’s officials said no deputies were injured.
Fox 11 reported a man named Maurice Nolan told the Orange County Register that one of the victims was his daughter and the shooter’s ex-wife. She was shot in the jaw, according to Fox 11.
Video from the scene clearly showed multiple bodies covered with sheets outside the bar.
Orange County Sheriff’s Department Undersheriff Jeff Hallock said at the news conference deputies had recovered at least one weapon believed to be used in the shooting at the scene and investigators were still gathering evidence and it was early to draw specific conclusions.
“We have a number of witnesses that we have to interview and we will be processing the scene throughout the night,” Hallock said.
Hallock said there were at least “30 to 40 witnesses” that investigators were slated to interview.
A man who had been on his way to Cook’s Corner told the station at the scene that friends of his were inside the bar when the shooting occurred and they saw the gunman, who was described as an older man with a gray beard. He said his friends were not injured.
Sheriff’s deputies and multiple ambulance crews swarmed to the scene, and all streets in the vicinity were shut down while an investigation was conducted. Orange County officials said Santiago Canyon Road was closed south of Crystal Canyon Road, El Toro Road was closed north of Ridgeline Road and Live Oak Canyon was closed east of El Toro/Santiago Canyon.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office posted online: “We are monitoring the shooting in Orange County and are coordinating with local officials as more details become available.”
Cook’s Corner is a well known bar and biker hangout. The building is believed to date back to the late 1800s, although it did not begin operating as a restaurant until the 1920s. The restaurant bills itself as “one of the most famous biker bars in Southern California.”
On Wednesday night, the bar was offering its weekly $8 spaghetti dinner special, along with a live band named M Street that was scheduled to begin playing at 6:30 p.m. Around 6 p.m., the band posted a short video on its Instagram page showing the stage being set up, with the ominous caption, “Cook’s Corner before the onslaught!”
A witness to the shooting told KTLA5 the band was playing when the sound of gunfire rang out inside the bar. The man said he saw “a guy that had a light blue shirt on, he had two guns in his hands.”
The witness told the station he heard a barrage of gunfire as the gunman maneuvered inside the bar. The gunman then ran out to the parking lot and retrieved what appeared to be a rifle or shotgun from a silver pickup and he began shooting again, the witness said.
Another witness told reporters he saw the gunman wielding some type of long rifle and engage in a gunfight with sheriff’s deputies.
Shortly after the shooting, a woman who had been inside the bar posted a series of photos showing blood smeared on the floor of the business. She wrote that the gunman fired four or six shots toward her, but she was not hit.
CBS 2 reported a pregnant woman encountered the gunman outside the bar and begged him not to shoot her. According to CBS, the shooter spared the woman and told her, ” Get out of here.”
Sen. Dave Min, D-Irvine, quickly issued a statement saying he was “heartbroken” by the shooting in his area.
“Our district is one of the safest areas in the country and yet we too are repeatedly afflicted with the scourge of mass shootings,” Min said. “An office park in Orange, a church in Laguna Woods, a bar in Trabuco Canyon.
“There is no place in America that is safe from the scourge of gun violence. There is no community not affected. My heart breaks for the families and loved ones of the victims. We cannot rest until we end gun violence in this country.”
Rep. Katie Porter, D-Irvine, posted on social media, “This is heartbreaking news for our Orange County community. I’m thinking of the victims and their loved ones as we await more information from law enforcement.”
Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said it was “disturbing to now learn that the suspect killed his wife or ex-wife during an argument. Another domestic dispute led to another mass shooting. We must do more to prevent senseless acts of gun violence and protect survivors.”
Regarding a question about similar events in Trabuco Canyon, Hallock replied, “These types of shootings are not commonplace in Orange County.”