A shooter opened fire Wednesday at a California bar where three people were killed and several others injured, local police said, adding that the suspect was deceased.
The shooter, a retired police officer, was targeting his estranged wife, according to unnamed sources cited by the Los Angeles Times newspaper.
“We confirm that four people died at the scene, including the shooter. Six were transported to the hospital, five of them with gunshot wounds,” the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said on X (ex- Twitter).
The shooter died in the incident during which, according to the police, “shooting involving a police officer” took place without any member of the police being injured.
Two of the injured are in “critical condition”, fire department official Brian Fennessy said.
The shootings occurred at Cook’s Corner bar, about 72 km southeast of Los Angeles, a well-known meeting point for local bikers.
About 30 witnesses attended the scene and are being questioned by police, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes told reporters.
“At least one weapon was found at the scene and we are aware that it may be a retired law enforcement officer,” Barnes continued. The police are investigating to verify this point.
A man interviewed by the ABC7 channel explained that several of his friends were in the bar and came out of the incident unscathed.
“They were right next to the shooter. They say he’s an elderly man with a gray beard,” he told the outlet.
Local television footage filmed on the spot showed at least three bodies covered in sheets near the bar, one in the street, another in the parking lot and a third at the back of the establishment.
At least 12,346 people have died in gun violence since the start of the year in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive (GVA). This figure excludes suicides, at least 15,576, involving firearms.
The association has also recorded since the beginning of 2023 at least 465 mass killings – attacks with firearms in which at least four people are injured or killed.
The United States pays a very heavy price for the dissemination of firearms on its territory and the ease with which Americans have access to them.
The country has more individual weapons than inhabitants: one in three adults owns at least one weapon and nearly one in two adults lives in a home where there is a weapon.
The consequence of this proliferation is the very high rate of death by firearm in the United States, without comparison with that of other developed countries.
08/24/2023 09:25:08 – Los Angeles (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
