The man who apparently killed 12 in a California bar and then took his own life in a horrific mass shooting Wednesday night was a former active-duty Marine whose awards included a Combat Action Ribbon for service in Afghanistan, Marine Corps officials said Thursday.
The reported shooter, 28-year-old Ian David Long, entered the Marine Corps in August 2008 and reached the rank of corporal, receiving a discharge in March 2013, according to information released by the service.
Long served as a machine gunner, deploying to Afghanistan from November 2010 to June 2011. He earned a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, given automatically for three consecutive years of service without a disciplinary incident, and the Combat Action Ribbon, awarded for active participation in ground or surface combat.
According to the Marines, Long entered active duty in Los Angeles. His last unit was 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, out of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
Little is known yet about Long's motives in the deadly rampage. He reportedly entered the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, on "college night," dressed in black and wearing a hood and carrying a Glock .45 caliber handgun.
Officials with the Ventura County Sheriff's office, which first identified Long as the shooter, told the Los Angeles Times that Long was known to the department and had been the subject of an April complaint for disturbing the peace.
The outlet also reported that Long had been the victim of a 2015 battery incident at a bar.
A neighbor of Long's told the Times that it was possible Long was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, but it's not clear whether that statement was based on a medical diagnosis.
At this time, nothing has been released that would conclusively tie Long's service or military experiences to the shooting.
-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
