At least four people were dead, including a gunman, and several others were wounded Wednesday night following a shooting at a biker bar in Orange County that authorities said was carried out by a former Southern California law enforcement officer.
The gunfire erupted around 7 p.m. at the Cook’s Corner bar, located at 19152 Santiago Canyon Road in a remote foothill area of Trabuco Canyon. Three law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation told NBC News' Andrew Blankstein that the gunman was a former law enforcement officer who targeted his wife.
"He walked directly to her," said Sheriff Don Barnes. "He immediately fired up her, once."
Barnes said Thursday afternoon that the victim is conscious and speaking.
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The Orange County Sheriff's Department identified the gunman in Wednesday night's shooting as 59-year-old John Snowling. He was shot and killed by responding deputies within minutes of their arrival at Cook's Corner Bar in the scenic Trabuco Canyon area, the Sheriff's Department said.
Snowling was a sergeant with the Ventura Police Department, where he worked until his retirement in 2014, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said. The sheriff's department confirmed Thursday morning that she is among the survivors.
In addition to the deceased, six people were rushed to hospitals with gunshot wounds, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said Thursday afternoon. Police had previously said five were wounded. A spokesperson for Providence Mission Hospital told NBC4 that two of the victims taken there were in critical condition, while four were stable.
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OCSD spokesman Sgt. Frank Gonzales said the shooting was reported at 7:04 p.m. Deputies arrived two minutes later and came upon the shooter two minutes after that, he said. The sheriff's department said that an officer-involved shooting happened during the incident. A law enforcement source told NBC4 that deputies killed the gunman.
No deputies were hurt, the OCSD said.
Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Sean Doran said firefighter-paramedics arrived to assist law enforcement. They found four people dead at the scene, he said.
A witness told NBC4 that the shooter and his wife were going through a divorce, though OCSD Undersheriff Jeff Hallock said it was too early to tell whether the shooting stemmed from a domestic dispute.
Ventura County Superior Court records show that Snowling's estranged wife filed for divorce Dec. 21.
The witness, Betty Fruichantie, said she was sitting next to the wife when the gunman used two guns to shoot at his spouse multiple times. Hallock said detectives found at least one weapon at the scene.
“We were sitting there listening to the band and all of sudden, from behind us, we hear shooting. A bunch of shooting,” Fruichantie said. “I thought it was just firecrackers, she didn’t say anything. People were getting shot. People were getting shot.”
Several apparent gunshots were audible in a video posted to social media from outside the bar.
Nelson Rosales said he was on his way to the bar when he was flagged down by a woman in a car blocking the road. The woman was “freaking out” and said there had been a shooting.
“Sure enough, seconds later I hear the shots, I see the shooter,” Rosales said. “He walked over to a gray pickup truck, opened his passenger door, and then I saw a couple people walking out. I saw two bodies drop.”
Rosales said about a minute later, two or three deputies pulled up. That’s when he said the shooter "without hesitation just started unloading" on the deputies, who returned fire. The gunman was armed with what appeared to be a rifle, Rosales said.
Footage from NBC4's NewsChopper4 helicopter showed a large law enforcement response, with crime scene tape and numerous ambulances and police and fire vehicles surrounding the bar.
A motorcyclist who identified himself only as Ron said he was on his way to see friends at the bar when he got overtaken by California Highway Patrol vehicles. About a block away from the bar, the CHP officers diverted him.
Ron said his friends were still at the bar but unhurt. “They’re safe. They’re upset, of course. I mean, when you’ve got multiple shots being fired around you. They were right next to the shooter. They said he was an older man with a gray beard," Ron said.
State senators Dave Min and Catherine Blakespear, who represent California's 37th and 38th districts, respectively, expressed sadness about the shooting on social media. Their districts include Orange County.
“Our district is one of the safest areas in the country, and yet we are too repeatedly afflicted with the scourge of mass shootings,” Min said in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.
"I'm devastated to hear of a shooting today in Trabuco Canyon in Orange County. My heart aches for those involved. My team and I are monitoring the situation and thank the first responders for their involvement at the scene," Blakespear wrote on the platform.
State Rep. Young Kim, who represents the 40th District, wrote that she was "devastated" by the "horrific news."
The shooting is the deadliest in Orange County since a man opened fire at a real estate office in Orange in March 2021. That shooting left four people, including a 9-year-old boy, dead.
In October 2011, a gunman killed eight people in a shooting at a Seal Beach salon in the county’s deadliest mass shooting.
