Ex-Marine identified as suspect in California mass shooting

PROCESSION FOR SLAIN LAWMAN

Ventura County Sheriff's Office Sergeant Ron Helus, a 29-year veteran with a wife and son, was shot in the bar and died at a hospital.

Helus' colleague, Sergeant Julie Novak, told CNN that he was talking to his wife on the phone when the Borderline call came in. He reached the bar in 2 minutes.

A procession of at least 50 police cars and other vehicles escorted the hearse carrying his body from the hospital. Dozens of people watched from the sidewalk and firefighters stood at attention as it passed.

Among those outside the hospital was Ellen Rivera, who said she had survived the October 2017 slaughter of 58 people at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas - the worst mass shooting in US history.

She said the support of the Thousand Oaks community had helped her get through the trauma of that incident and that it hurt to see her friends suffering now.

"To have the people who supported me to be affected themselves, it's just too much," she said.

Dean, who was speaking on his last day before retirement, said he had been told that 150 to 200 people were in the Borderline at the time. "It could have been much, much worse."

Asked what the scene inside the bar was like, Dean said, "Like ... hell." Earlier he had described it as "a horrific scene in there. There is blood everywhere and the suspect is part of that."

Dean estimated 10 to 15 people, including one with a gunshot wound, had gone to hospitals. He said he believed their injuries were minor, and that most were likely injured as they escaped, some by breaking windows.

Jennifer Avalos, 20, held back tears as she left the teen center, where she had hoped to learn the fate of her friend, Noel Sparks, 21, who had been at Borderline. They had texted each before the shooting but Sparks did not come home.

President Donald Trump, who has resisted a surge in calls for tougher gun control measures since 17 students and staff were shot dead at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida earlier this year, ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at public buildings and grounds.

Agencies