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Prayer vigil planned as cleanup begins after OC mass shooting
Orange County Aug 25, 2023
Saddleback Church in Lake Forest. | Photo courtesy of Brent/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
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A prayer service was scheduled for Friday evening in memory of the three people killed and others affected by the mass shooting at the Cook’s Corner bar in Trabuco Canyon, while the investigation continues into the motivations of the retired police sergeant who carried out the massacre.
Saddleback Church in Lake Forest will host the prayer gathering.
“This tragedy has left many friends and family members devastated, and many more members of the community shocked and dismayed,” the Rev. Andy Wood of Saddleback Church said in a statement. “This is a time we can come together and ask God for comfort and healing. The church is the fabric of any community and the source for hope. Saddleback is a community where we can grieve together, pray, serve, and support each other through every aspect of life.”
The gathering was live-streamed on the church’s website. The church also welcomed people struggling to cope with the tragedy to reach out to its “pastoral care team” at 949-609-8000.
Orange County officials reminded residents that mental health support and other resources can be accessed around the clock at 855-625-4657.
The shooting occurred around 7 p.m. Wednesday at Cook’s Corner, billed as one of the most famous biker bars in Southern California, but also hailed by Orange County leaders as a gathering place for families and the community — particularly for its weekly Wednesday night spaghetti dinner special.
Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said the gunman — 59-year-old retired Ventura Police Department Sgt. John Snowling — entered the bar carrying two handguns and walked directly to his estranged wife, Marie, and shot her once. Marie Snowling’s family said she was shot once in the jaw.
Snowling then shot the woman with whom his wife was dining. That woman, who has not yet been identified, managed to run outside the bar where she died.
According to Barnes, Snowling then began firing randomly into the crowd. Two other men were killed, including 67-year-old John Leehey of Irvine. The other victim, who Barnes said was killed while trying to engage the gunman and halt the shooting, has not yet been identified.
In addition to Marie Snowling, five other people were injured. Marie Snowling and an unidentified man were hospitalized in critical condition, while four other men suffered lesser injuries. One of those men, a cook at the restaurant, was shot in an arm.
James O’Malley, who was at Cook’s Corner Wednesday night with Leehey, told reporters the pair were having a beer in the bar’s picnic area when they heard gunshots ring out and saw people running outside. He said they both also started to run, and he saw his friend fall to the ground.
“I thought he tripped, and then my mind said, no, that wasn’t a trip because he didn’t even cushion his fall,” O’Malley told CBS2.
Barnes said Snowling eventually went to a silver pickup in the bar’s parking lot and retrieved another handgun and a shotgun, then continued shooting.
Arriving sheriff’s deputies quickly spotted the gunman, who shot at the law-enforcement officers, prompting them to return fire. According to Barnes and District Attorney Todd Spitzer, seven deputies shot at the gunman, firing at least 75 rounds, killing Snowling.
According to the Ventura Police Department, Snowling retired from the police department as a sergeant in February 2014, ending a career that began in July 1986.
Barnes said Snowling — who apparently has residences in Camarillo, Orange County and Ohio — traveled from Ohio to Southern California then made his way Wednesday night to Cook’s Corner in the 19100 block of Santiago Canyon Road, where he knew his estranged wife would be. The couple were in the midst of a divorce.
It was unclear how long Snowling had been in the area or if he had been tracing his estranged wife’s movements. But Barnes said it was clear that Snowling knew she was at Cook’s Corner Wednesday night. He said that according to witnesses, Snowling walked directly up to her and shot her without saying anything.
The couple have two adult children. Barnes said Marie Snowling’s son was with her at the hospital on Thursday, and she was awake and talking.
Spitzer said his office will review the propriety of the law-enforcement shooting, but he has not found any evidence to believe “in any way whatsoever that their acts were nothing less than heroic and that nothing they did last night indicates any criminal activity or excessive use of force in any way whatsoever.”
Officials at Providence Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, where all of the injured shooting victims were taken, said Thursday that Marie Snowling had been transferred to UCI Medical Center in Orange.
According to Providence Mission Hospital, a critically injured man who was shot in the chest remained hospitalized Thursday. The other four patients taken to Providence Mission were all men. One of them was released Wednesday night, two others were expected to go home Thursday and the fourth, who was shot in an arm, was scheduled to undergo surgery Thursday, according to the hospital.
The Ventura Police Department issued a statement Thursday saying the agency was cooperating with Orange County authorities in the investigation.
“Our hearts weigh heavy with the distressing incident at Cook’s Corner,” VPD Chief Darin Schindler said. “Our deepest condolences are with the families of the victims, the survivors, and the Orange County deputies who swiftly responded to the scene. This incident deeply affects us all.”
Various witness reports indicated that during the shooting, an unknown number of people barricaded themselves inside the kitchen to avoid the gunman. According to multiple reports, a woman who encountered the gunman outside the bar begged the man not to shoot her, telling him she was five months pregnant. The woman said the shooter spared her life, telling her, “Get out of here.”
Cook’s Corner is a well-known bar and biker hangout. The building is believed to date back to the late 1800s, although it did not begin operating as a restaurant until the 1920s. The restaurant bills itself as “one of the most famous biker bars in Southern California.”
Barnes and Spitzer insisted that while Cook’s Corner is historically known as a biker bar, it is actually a welcoming restaurant for families, particularly on the spaghetti nights.
“It’s a gathering place,” Barnes said. “It’s a place for families to go to share a meal. It’s a tight-knit community.”
Spitzer added, “This is personal. I am one of those bikers. I am one of those people that would often go on Wednesday nights for spaghetti night. … It is iconic, it is special. And nothing that happened last night is going to ruin either the canyon, its austerity, its prominence or Cook’s Corner.”
Orange County Supervisor also hailed Cook’s Corner as a “family spot.”
“It draws bikers and so many others from around the county,” he said. “It is a wholesome place. I’ve been out there when they’ve done charity events, when they put on music shows for our veterans. … It will be forever sad. There’s no other word for it, that such a happy place will now go forward under the shadow of what happened last night.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statement Thursday lamenting the shooting, while also urging the public to take advantage of “red-flag” laws that can lead to seizure of weapons from people who might be considered a threat to themselves or others.
“California mourns for the victims of last night’s horrific shooting at Cook’s Corner,” Newsom said. “As we continue to learn more details about this act of violence, there are early reports that this horror was related to a domestic dispute. This type of trauma is unfortunately not isolated. Two-thirds of mass shooters in America have a history of domestic violence.
“Victims and survivors in California should know they are never alone — we have tools and resources to support and protect you. Our state’s red flag laws allow victims, family members, coworkers, and others to work with local law enforcement and the courts to safely remove guns from those who may be a potential threat. We must continue to strengthen, defend, and use these laws. If you see red flags, say something — and in doing so, save lives.”
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