Photo: California Department of Motor Vehicles via AP
He may have been targeting his ex-girlfriend.
By Sarah Gangraw — Written on Nov 14, 2018
Authorities have yet to determine a motive for the mass shooting at a Thousand Oaks bar and are exploring all possibilities to explain what prompted David Long to fatally shoot 13, including himself.
"We’re going to exhaust every investigative means possible,” Sheriff’s Capt. Garo Kuredjian told the Ventura County Star.
Ian David Long was identified as the gunman in Wednesday's violent rampage at Borderline Bar & Grill and authorities are looking into his mental health prior to his death. An autopsy revealed the former Marine died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, said Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub.
Long walked into the California bar just before midnight and fatally shot 12 people and wounded 21, before turning the handgun on himself. A look into his past and mental state have given authorities a snippet of what was going on inside the killer's head but they are looking for much more information to paint a clear picture.
It was determined that Long was a former Marine machine gunner whose health had been evaluated on at least one occasion. Multiple people from the shooter's past have come forward with stories of fear or to explain how uncomfortable Long made them, but a motive has not been determined.
When President Trump addressed the tragic shooting, which was the 307th mass shooting in the U.S. this year, he described Long as "a very sick puppy" who had "a lot of problems." On top of dealing with the aftermath of a horrific shooting, Thousand Oaks residents are fighting growing fires in the area.
"I just wonder what's next," Thousand Oaks resident Judy Goodman told USA Today.
Here is what we know about Long and the possible motives for the Thousand Oaks shooting:
1. He was a regular at the Borderline bar.
At first, there was no known connection between Long and the bar he chose to murder 12 people at. Now, the gunman's friend has spoken up, telling authorities he and Long frequented Borderline Bar & Grill.
"We would go to Borderline together. He really liked it," a woman who has been friends with Long for five years told CNN. She did not want to be publicly identified.
"I would make fun of him because he would drag me there. Sometimes we'd go there to have a drink, sit and talk, listen to music... There was a community there. He was a part of that community."
2. His ex-girlfriend may have been at the bar.
Authorities have been investigating whether Long believed his former girlfriend was at the Borderline bar the night of the shooting, an official told AP. The official is not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation and released no further details.
3. He posted on social media during the shooting.
Authorities determined that Long paused mid-shooting to post on Instagram. He stopped to post about his sanity during the violent attack at the Thousand Oaks bar, according to an official familiar with the case.
"It's too bad I won't get to see all the illogical and pathetic reasons people will put in my mouth as to why I did it. Fact is I had no reason to do it, and I just thought... f***it, life is boring so why not?" Long posted at 11:24 p.m., ABC7 reported.
At 11:27 p.m., he posted, "I hope people call me insane (2 smiley face emojis)...wouldn't that just be a big ball of irony? Yeah... I'm insane, but the only thing you people do after these shootings is 'hopes and prayers'... or 'keep you in my thoughts'... every time... and wonder why these keep happening... (2 more smiley face emojis)."
Facebook and Instagram have been scrubbed of Long's accounts and posts. CNN read the posts to one of Long's friends, who wished to remain anonymous.
"That does not sound like Ian to me at all," the friend said. "I don't know what was going through his head when he wrote this. It must have been terrible."
4. He was a former Marine.
The Pentagon confirmed that Long enlisted in the Marines at 18 and served until he was honorably discharged in nearly five years later in 2013. He was in charge of hauling and shooting machine guns as a part of the infantry.
Long's Marine unit was based in Hawaii and he served time in Afghanistan.
The Marine Corps said Long earned several awards during his service, including a Combat Action Ribbon and a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, according to the AP.
5. He was divorced.
According to court records, Long married Stavroula Tzavaras in Honolulu at the age of 19. The two wed in June 2009, but the marriage didn't last long. They separated in June 2011 and filed for divorce just months after he was discharged from the military in 2013, citing "irreconcilable differences."
6. He lived with his mom.
Long lived with his mother in the suburbs of Thousands Oaks, AP reported.
He and his mother, Colleen Long, fought frequently and loudly, neighbors said. In April, one of their quarrels prompted neighbors to call police and authorities believed Long was suffering from PTSD. Deputies said Long “was somewhat irate, acting a little irrationally” and called in a mental health specialist, who concluded there were no grounds to have him involuntarily committed for mental health evaluations.
Neighbors were aware of Long's PTSD and said his mother was "worried because he wouldn't get help," Richard Berge told VC Star.
7. He was described as "odd" but never violent.
Those who knew Long said he was certainly "odd," "introverted," or "creepy," but never came off as the type of guy to explode with violence.
"He wasn't unhinged, he wasn't violent," a friend of Long who didn't want to be identified told CNN.
Long's former roommate, Blake Winnett, 35, told the New York Post that he "was kind of weird" and would "lock himself in his room."
“He would go to the gym and then he would, I guess, try to learn dance moves or something,” Winnett recalled. “He would close the garage and be playing music and dancing in there, like sweating."
But Long wasn't "weird" enough to deter Winnet from living with him. The two shared a home twice, once in 2012 and again in 2014. One of Long's neighbors said the troubled veteran kept to himself and sometimes acknowledges his greetings. Other times Long flat-out ignored him.
"He was kind of an introvert," said Tom Hanson.
Sarah Gangraw writes about all things news, entertainment and crime. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.