A witness to the California nightclub shooting describes the scene when gunshots rang out, killing 12 people.
The shooter, apparently firing at random, also died in the rampage. Police said they have identified the gunman but did not give out a name.
Authorities said the gunfire broke out at the Borderline Bar & Grill, a country-western dance bar in Thousand Oaks, which is about 40 miles west of Los Angeles. Hundreds of people fled in terror, including some who used bar stools to break windows and escape.
“It’s a horrific scene in there,” Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean told a news conference in the parking lot of the bar. “There’s blood everywhere.”
A law enforcement official told The Associated Press the suspect was 29 years old, armed with a .45-caliber handgun and used a smoke device. The official declined to provide any other details, speaking on condition of anonymity for lack of authorization to publicly discuss the investigation.
Dean said it was not immediately clear how the gunman died.