At least three people were murdered, and six others were injured on Wednesday night when a former police sergeant opened fire at a famous and historic motorcycle pub in Southern California. He was later killed in a fight with sheriff’s officers.
The incident happened at 7 p.m. in Trabuco Canyon, an unincorporated area of eastern Orange County, at a pub called Cook’s Corner. The Orange County district attorney’s office named the shooter 59-year-old ex-Ventura PD officer John Snowling.
After a domestic dispute, Snowling entered the pub, walked up to his wife, and shot her. Snowling drove 2,000 miles to shoot his wife. She survived a gunshot to the face.
Tonya Clark was shot. She ran out to the parking lot, succumbing to her injury.
Mr. Snowling returned to his pickup in the parking lot and began randomly opening fire on the bar’s guests. The sheriff claimed that deputies located Mr. Snowling in the parking lot and that he then opened fire on them. By firing back, he was able to kill Mr. Snowling.
Attempting to approach Mr. Snowling in the parking lot, one of the three victims was shot and died. He also said that Mr. Snowling, who didn’t seem to have a criminal record, had gotten all the guns legitimately. Two were injured: a guy was shot in the chest, and a woman was hit in the jaw. They were in serious condition at Providence Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, California. Orange, California’s University of California, Irvine Medical Center, is where the lady was sent after her transfer. One patient was discharged on Wednesday night, while four were listed as stable.
Since the 1970s, bikers passing through the Santa Ana Mountains’ foothills have stopped at this pub with wood paneling. Customers have ranged from gang members to pensioners to police officers. In 2008, the tavern became the temporary headquarters for a group of exhausted firemen who used it for around ten days to conduct meetings and eat meals together. On Wednesday, the pub had its weekly spaghetti night, and an Orange County rock band called M Street was due to perform.
Survivors of domestic violence and others may utilize “red flag” legislation in California to get protection orders preventing abusers from having weapons, and Governor Gavin Newsom has encouraged locals to do so.
According to Newsom, almost two-thirds of mass shooters in the United States have a history of domestic violence, which contradicts initial claims that the massacre was “connected to a personal disagreement.”
