9 Shot, 4 Killed At Famed Orange County Biker Bar

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ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Nine people were shot and at least four people were killed at a well-known biker bar in south Orange County Wednesday evening, the Orange County Sheriff's Department confirmed.

The shooting occurred at about 7:30 p.m. at Cook's Corner in the 19100 block of Santiago Canyon Road. The gunman died at the scene, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Four people were pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting, and six people were taken to hospitals with five of those people suffering from gunshot wounds, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department. The conditions of the injured were not immediately available.

According to the sheriff's department, an officer or deputy was involved in a shooting at the scene. KCAL9 reported earlier that the gunman may have been shot by a sheriff's deputy, but the sheriff's department did not immediately confirm that report.

KCAL9 video from the scene showed at least two bodies covered with sheets outside the bar.

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Sheriff's deputies and multiple ambulance crews swarmed to the scene, and all streets in the vicinity were shut down.

Citing an unnamed law enforcement source, KCAL9 reported the gunman was a retired Southern California law enforcement officer who opened fire as a result of a domestic disturbance with his wife at the bar, and the wife was one of the dead victims. Multiple outlets reported that the gunman was a retired police sergeant from Ventura with KCAL reporting he worked with the agency from 1984 until 2014.

Shortly after the shooting, a woman who was inside the bar posted a series of photos showing blood smeared on the floor of the bar. She wrote that the gunman fired four or six shots toward her, but she was not hit.

A man who had been on his way to Cook's Corner told the station at the scene that friends of his were inside the bar when the shooting occurred and saw the gunman, who was described as an older man with a gray beard. He said his friends were not injured.

Cook's Corner is a well-known bar and biker hangout. The building is thought 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," according to its website.

On Wednesday night, the bar/restaurant was offering its weekly $8 spaghetti dinner special, along with a live band named M Street that was scheduled to begin playing at 6:30 p.m. Around 6 p.m., the band posted a short video on its Instagram page showing the stage being set up, with the ominous caption, "Cook's Corner before the onslaught!"

Hours before the shooting, several patrons were stopping by Cook's Corner for an afternoon drink and meal. Rows of motorcycles and bikes framed the gravel entrance where plaques describe the storied history of the bar built in 1884.

Dozens of patrol cars and ambulances converged on the scene Wednesday evening.

According to OC Public Works, the shooting prompted authorities to shut down all nearby roads including: Santiago Canyon Road south of Crystal Canyon Road, El Toro Road north of Ridgeline Road, Live Oak Canyon east of El Toro and Santiago Canyon Road.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was monitoring the shooting “and coordinating with local officials as more details become available,” his office tweeted.

State Sen. Dave Min, D-Irvine, quickly issued a statement saying he was "heartbroken" by the shooting in his area.

"Our district is one of the safest areas in the country and yet we too are repeatedly afflicted with the scourge of mass shootings," Min said. "An office park in Orange, a church in Laguna Woods, a bar in Trabuco Canyon. There is no place in America that is safe from the scourge of gun violence. There is no community not affected. Me heart breaks for the families and loved ones of the victims. We cannot rest until we end gun violence in this country."

City News Service and the Associated Press contributed to this report.