Ex-cop was gunning for estranged wife, then shot randomly, killing 3 and wounding 6 at O.C. bar
John Snowling came to Cook’s Corner in the middle of the family-friendly $8 spaghetti night. The former police officer shot his wife, then turned on other bar patrons.
www.latimes.com
Orange County mass shooter identified as ex-cop targeting estranged wife, sources say
A gunman who officials say killed three people and wounded six others Wednesday night at a landmark biker bar in Trabuco Canyon was a former police officer, according to officials.
Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer identified the gunman as John Snowling, a retired sergeant from the Ventura Police Department. Snowling, 59, was targeting his estranged wife, who was reportedly a regular at the bar, according to two law enforcement sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The gunman was also killed Wednesday night, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department posted on social media.
Sheriff’s officials received a 911 call just after 7 p.m. about the shooting at the Cook’s Corner bar on Santiago Canyon Road. The first deputies arrived within two minutes. Deputies found a man with a gun, and multiple deputies opened fire, officials said.
A tarp covers a body Thursday as Orange County investigators view the scene of a mass shooting at Cook’s Corner in Trabuco Canyon.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Law enforcement sources told The Times that deputies pinned Snowling down beside a silver truck, and his body remained next to the truck Wednesday night.
Snowling had two handguns and a shotgun, according to a law enforcement source with detailed knowledge who was not authorized to discuss the investigation and requested anonymity. The shotgun was used in a gun battle with deputies in a parking area, the source said.
The six people who were injured in the shooting were taken to Providence Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo on Wednesday night. Two were in critical condition — a man who was shot in the chest and a woman who was shot in the jaw, according to James Chisum, a spokesman for the hospital. The woman was transferred overnight to UC Irvine Medical Center, Chisum confirmed Thursday.
