The Borderline Bar & Grill was packed as patrons danced, watched a Lakers’ game or played pool. It was country college night, and people swayed to the beat as music blared through speakers.Suddenly, a man wearing a black trench coat and glasses approached the bar entrance and shot the security guard.Inside the bar, some people thought it was fireworks or sound effects from the music, and kept dancing, witnesses said.Within seconds, witnesses said, the gunman burst into the bar with a Glock .45-caliber handgun and shot someone at the cash register. People dropped to the ground and hid under pool tables and bar stools. Some piled atop one another while others slammed bar stools against windows to break them.Those who got out ran, the sounds of rapid gunfire echoing around them in the dark.”They ran out of back doors, they broke windows, they went through windows, they hid up in the attic, they hid in the bathroom,” Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said.By the time the gun went silent, 12 people were dead, including sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Helus, who had rushed to the scene. Thousand Oaks, California, described as one of the nation’s safest cities, was now on the long list of places affected by a mass shooting.The bar is a popular meeting among students from nearby universities, some of whom don Cowboy hats and boots on theme nights such as Wednesday’s. When the gunfire erupted shortly after 11 p.m., it was packed with young people, including a group celebrating a birthday.
