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Victims Of Deadly Thousand Oaks Shooting Begin To Be Identified

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The identities of the 12 victims who were slain in a deadly mass shooting at a southern California bar late Wednesday night are beginning to be released.

A gunman dressed in a black hooded sweatshirt entered Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks carrying a reportedly legally purchased .45 calibre Glock semi-automatic handgun and opened fire on a large crowd during the bar’s college country music night.

The suspect has been identified as Ian David Long, 28, a former U.S. Marine.

Here is a list of the victims identified so far by authorities.

Sgt. Ron Helus

Helus, a 29-year law enforcement veteran, was killed while responding to the incident. He was among the first responders on the scene and immediately exchanged fire with the shooter upon entering the bar, Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said.

His last words were to his wife, with whom he had just hung up the phone before he was dispatched to the bar.

“Hey, I gotta go handle a call, I love you, I’ll talk to you later,” Dean said Helus told his wife.

Thousands of people lined the streets in southern California as Helus’s body was driven from the hospital to a coroner’s office.

Hundreds of people line the highways and overpasses, many waving flags, for the procession for Sgt. Ron Helus, who was killed responding to Thousand Oaks mass shooting overnight.

Helus was a 29-year veteran who was about to retire. https://t.co/tKMyP8uVCt pic.twitter.com/GgvUzhnisg

— ABC News (@ABC) November 8, 2018

“He died a hero because he went, he went in to save lives, to save other people’s lives,” Dean said.

Cody Coffman

Coffman, 22, was identified by his father, Jason Coffman, who said he last spoke to his son that night before Cody headed out.

“First thing I said was ‘please don’t drink and drive,'” Cody’s father said, according to CBS News.

“Last thing I said was, ‘Son, I love you.'”

WATCH: Father of 22-year-old Cody Coffman, who was killed in Calif. bar mass shooting:

“I talked to him last night before he headed out the door … The last thing I said was ‘Son, I love you.’ That was the last thing I said.” https://t.co/Ix0iMTHOWq pic.twitter.com/eDab9DkKGn

— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 8, 2018

Coffman had two younger brothers and a sister who had not been born yet.

Before Wednesday’s shooting, his father says he was talking to recruiters about joining the military.

Justin Meek

California Lutheran University was alerted Thursday that Meek, 23, was identified by his family as among the dead.

Meek was a bouncer and promoter at Borderline Bar and Grill, and died while trying to act as a barricade protecting those around him, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Justin Meek, 23, was a bouncer and promoter at Borderline who was shot trying to save others in the bar. “Meek heroically saved lives in the incident,” his alma mater, California Lutheran University, said in a statement. https://t.co/xiiaaxdzxW pic.twitter.com/HMhkp2wtJj

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) November 8, 2018

“Meek heroically saved lives in the incident,” the university said in a campus alert.

Alaina Housley

Housley, 18, was identified as a victim after she was reported missing by her aunt, actress Tamera Mowry-Housley and her uncle, former Fox News correspondent Adam Housley.

Housley was a freshman at Pepperdine University. Her iPhone and AppleWatch still showed her location on the dance floor.

The world lost this amazing young woman last night. I look forward to seeing you in heaven Alaina Housley. pic.twitter.com/WdewVKkWFU

— Steve Rodriguez (@BaylorCoachRod) November 8, 2018

“Our hearts are broken,” the couple said in statement about their niece. “Alaina was an incredible young woman with so much life ahead of her and we are devastated that her life was cut short in this manner.”

This story will be updated as more victims are identified.

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