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‘Get up, he’s coming’: California bar shooting survivor recounts horror
A gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on “college night”.
Survivors of the shooting that left 13 dead, including the gunman, in a crowded bar in California on Wednesday described the moments of panic and heroism as the attacker turned a dance floor into a killing zone.
Nineteen-year-old Tayler Whitler, who was at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, says she was dancing and her friends were at a table by the door as the gunman opened fire. She says everyone yelled “Get down!” and it was silent for a couple of seconds, then she heard “Get up, he’s coming!” and people were trampling on each other to get out.
Erika Sigman,19, found herself hiding with a group of strangers, and they were holding her hands. She says “there is a lot of bad in this world, but there is also a lot of good and people will help.”
Witnesses told CNN that patrons were there for the “College Country” night with line-dancing, music, drinks and food, and the place was packed with a young crowd.
Sheriff’s sergeant was among those killed. Authorities did not say how the gunman died.
Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said around 10 other people were shot and wounded. No other information on the victims was immediately known.
Some social media accounts said a bearded man wearing a dark trenchcoat walked in and started shooting.
When the shots started, some people smashed windows with chairs to escape, witnesses told CNN.
Other witnesses and people posting on social media said that the man might have fired up to 30 times. Others reported fewer shots, and he might have tossed smoke bombs
