4 Dead, 6 Injured in Shooting at Southern California Biker Bar
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A gunman who opened fire at a California bar popular with bikers, leaving three people dead, is a former law enforcement officer who targeted his wife, three sources said.
The shooter was also dead after the incident at Cook’s Corner in Trabuco Canyon just after 7 pm, officials said, NBC News reported.
Four people in all were pronounced dead at the scene, including the gunman, officials said. Six other people were transported to a hospital, five of whom had gunshot wounds, Orange County Fire Chief Brian Fennessy said.
Orange County sheriff's deputies encountered the armed man and a shooting that involved multiple deputies, leaving the gunman dead, Undersheriff Jeff Hallock said.
"This is an absolute tragic event and something that I know is probably weighing very heavy on the entire Trabuco Canyon community," Hallock said. "Cook's Corner, I mean, it's a staple here in south Orange County."
The identities of the gunman and those killed were not immediately released.
Two of the injured were in critical condition, Providence Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo said in a statement. The four others were stable, it said.
Three law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation said the gunman targeted his wife, but it was not clear whether she was among the dead or injured. The sources stressed details were preliminary and did not identify where he previously worked.
Hallock said at least one weapon was recovered. He said that investigators were also looking at whether the gunman was a former member of law enforcement but that it was too early to confirm any of that.
"We're working to confirm that, and would expect to have that information maybe tomorrow, if in fact it's true," he said.
When deputies arrived, their radios captured the sound of gunfire, which was heard by dispatchers, Hallock said. It was not clear whether that was the shooting involving deputies.
"It is our understanding that dispatch could hear gunshots going off in the background," he said.
Cook’s Corner advertises itself as one of the most famous biker bars in Southern California, and it goes back to the 1930s.
It opened in 1931 as a roadside hamburger restaurant, later became a bar and was discovered by bikers in the 1970s, the Los Angeles Times reported in a history of the establishment published in 2005.
Around 30 to 40 witnesses were not injured, Hallock said. Investigators were conducting interviews Wednesday night.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said it was aware of the shooting and coordinating with local officials.
State Sen. Catherine Blakespear, whose district includes Orange County, said she was “devastated.”
“My heart aches for those involved,” she wrote on social media. “My team and I are monitoring the situation and thank the first responders for their involvement at the scene.”
State Sen. Dave Min, who also represents the county, called Cook’s Corner “a historic bar in the heart of Orange County.”
“Our district is one of the safest areas in the country, and yet we too are repeatedly afflicted with the scourge of mass shootings,” Min wrote.
Trabuco Canyon is a community of around 1,000 in the foothills in Orange County, about 12 miles east of Irvine.
