Thousand Oaks Shooting Update: 13 People Including Suspect, Sheriff’s Deputy Confirmed Dead

UPDATE: 6.00 a.m. EST — Thirteen persons were confirmed dead, including a sheriff's sergeant and the suspect, after shooting at the California bar. Sheriff Sgt. Ron Helus, who was set to retire within the next year after serving 29 years, died at the hospital. The motive behind the act was still unknown. "Obviously for someone to do this — you have to have some kind of mental illness. And we have people with mental illness all across the country," the sheriff told reporters

UPDATE: 5.00 a.m. EST — Thousand Oaks mayor Andrew Cox confirmed the suspect was "engaged and neutralized" by police. NBC reported multiple fatalities have been confirmed. The number of injured was now at 11 and was most likely to go up as victims were self-reporting to hospitals, Ventura Co. Sheriff Deputy said.

UPDATE: 4.50 a.m. EST — According to the reports, the suspect was shot dead by law enforcement. Describing the shooter, Teylor Whittler, a witness and daughter of a military man said, "He changed clips really fast. He knew what he was doing. He had perfect form. Wore a ski mask on the bottom half of his face. Taller white man. Black baseball cap. My dad taught me how to hide," ABC 7 reported. Multiple assets from the the ATF ( Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) Los Angeles Field Division were also at the scene.

UPDATE: 4.00 a.m. EST — According to latest reports, the situation was still ongoing and officials are looking for the shooter. At least six people have been shot, including a police officer. Witnesses said there were about 600 students from nearby colleges at the bar.

UPDATE: 3.50 a.m. EST — Officials called the scene "active" with "several people shot and injured." California Lutheran University student body president confirmed one student was rushed to the hospital. CBS reported the suspect dropped a tactical grenade bomb and also exchanged fire with officials at the scene. Deputies said they weren't sure about the number of people in the bar though reports suggested hundreds could be inside.

UPDATE: 3.40 a.m. EST — According to reports, the shooter walked up to the bar, shot a security guard, and then proceeded to throw a smoke bomb before shooting inside the bar. Bomb squad has also been called to the scene. Seven subjects were found in the washroom; however their condition remained unknown, and the wounded were being carried out by people. The shooter was active in the restroom.

Original story

Several people were reported to have been shot at during a mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks on Wednesday night. The gunman may still be at large. According to reports, the gunman was still inside the building and a SWAT team was preparing to storm the building.

According to reports, law enforcement officers and rescue crews were at the scene along with four ambulances to treat multiple victims. No deaths have been confirmed yet.

The initial call to the officials indicated a man had opened fire with a semi-automatic gun and around 30 shots had been fired.

Reports said victims could be in multiple places as they fled the scene. Officials said some victims ran to a nearby gas station to get medical help and were reportedly covered with blood.

The suspect was initially reported to be inside the bar. He was described as a Middle Eastern man in his early 20s, wearing all black clothing, and reportedly had a beard, according to the people at the scene.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Office and California Highway Patrol responded to incident and during then, additional gunfire were reported.

The roadways were being blocked and the officers were escorting large number of people to safety.