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Gunman among 'multiple' dead in US bar shooting: sheriff's office

Thursday November 08 2018
scene

This handout video grab obtained on November 8, 2018 courtesy of Jeremy Childs twitter account shows people gathering outside a country music bar and dance hall in the Los Angeles-area after a gunman barged into a large, crowded venue and opened fire late November 7, wounding at least 11 people including a police officer, US police said. AFP PHOTO| JEREMY CHILDS

By AFP

A gunman who opened fire in a southern California bar and dance hall late Wednesday killing several people is dead, the sheriff's office said.

Ventura County Sheriff's Office Sgt Eric Buchow told the CBS affiliate in Los Angeles that there were "multiple fatalities" in the shooting and the gunman was dead inside the crowded venue in the upscale residential suburb of Thousand Oaks.

The venue in a quiet, upscale residential suburb was hosting an event for college students, with possibly several hundred young people in attendance, Captain Garo Kuredjian of the Ventura County Sheriff's office said.

Witnesses told CNN the attacker had a large handgun, wore a black trench coat and glasses and threw smoke grenades inside the Borderline Bar and Grill.

TV footage showed SWAT teams surrounding the bar, with distraught revellers milling around and using their cell phones as lights from police cars flashed.

Holden Harrah, a young man who saw the incident, cried as he told CNN that a place where he goes every week to have fun with friends had been a scene of carnage.

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"A gentleman walked in the front door and shot the girl that was behind the counter. I don't know if she is alive," he said.

Police who responded to reports of a shooting rushed to the scene and engaged the gunman, said Kuredjian.

The Los Angeles Times quoted a law enforcement official as saying at least 30 shots had been fired.

An unnamed witness told the newspaper that someone ran into the bar around 11:30 pm and started shooting what looked to be a black pistol.

"He shot a lot, at least 30 times. I could still hear gunshots after everyone left," the Times quoted the man as saying.

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