Updated 17:10
US police have identified the man they believe was responsible for murdering twelve people, including a police officer, at a country-and-western bar in Thousand Oaks, California.
Authorities say 28-year-old Ian David Long was a former US Marine.
It is understood he turned the gun on himself after opening fire inside the busy bar.
On the Hard Shoulder this evening, White House Bureau Chief for West Wing Reports Paul Brandus said detectives are still working on a motive.
“He had been deployed in Afghanistan for about seven months back in 2010 and 2011 – quite some time ago,” he said.
“He left the marines about five years ago in the spring of 2013.
“He got several awards during his service including a good conduct medal so the investigation into why this happened is just beginning.”
Attack
Initial reports indicated that Long opened fire with a semi-automatic gun at about 11.20pm local time.
Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said they received multiple calls of shots being fired at the bar.
A sheriff's deputy responding to the shooting was struck "multiple times with gunfire" when he stepped through the front door.
A highway patrol officer then secured the perimeter until more units arrived, including SWAT personnel, and also rescued the officer out of the line of gunfire.
Officers said at least 30 shots had been fired, sending hundreds of panicking people toward the exits with some breaking windows to escape.
The suspect was initially described as a man in his early 20s with a beard, wearing all black with a hood and his face partly covered.
"Multiple other victims"
Ventura County Sheriff's Captain Garo Kuredjian said hundreds of people were inside the bar and shots were still being fired when deputies arrived.
It was college night at the bar, with many of the customers being university students.
Sheriff Dean added that there were "multiple other victims of different levels of injury" that were taken to local hospitals.
Witnesses said a man fired several shots from a handgun before throwing smoke bombs into the crowded bar.
People screamed and fled to all corners of the room, while a few people threw barstools through the windows and helped dozens escape.
A trail of blood was visible on the street at the entrance of the venue.
Pictures and video footage showed firefighters and first responders flooding the scene after multiple injuries were reported.
A police helicopter swirled overhead and officers surrounded the area with cars.
In this image made from aerial video, police vehicles line a road in the vicinity of a shooting in Thousand Oaks, California | Image: AP/Press Association Images
Tayler Whitler (19) said she was inside the bar when a man walked in with his face partly covered by something resembling a ski mask.
She said he opened fire on a person working on the door, then began to shoot people at random.
"It was really, really, really shocking," she told KABC-TV. "It looked like he knew what he was doing."
Officers reported a man matching the suspect's description on the ground at the scene outside a window following the attack.
He was believed to have been confined inside the bar before being shot dead.
Police told how victims ran to a nearby petrol station to get help shortly after the gunman opened fire.
Video showed causalities being carried out of the bar by members of the public and emergency workers.
Officers escorted large groups of people to safety as they left the area.
The bar is located about 40 miles west of Los Angeles.
