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TODAYS TOP HEADLINES
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
Saturday, November 10, 2018 3A
CALIFORNIA BAR SHOOTING
RINGO H.W. CHIU I Associated Press
People gather to pray for the victims of a mass shooting at a
candlelight vigil in Thousand Oaks, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 8.
Official: Gunman
posted about mental
state during attack
Wildfire claims 9 lives
More than 6,700 structures destroyed in Northern California
NOAH BERGER I Associated Press
Firefighter Jose Corona sprays water as flames from the Camp Fire consume a home Friday,
Nov. 9, in Magalia, Calif.
BY JONATHAN J. COOPER
AND MICHAEL BALSAM0
Associated Press
THOUSAND OAKS -
The gunman who killed 12
people at a country music
bar in Southern California
went on social media during
the attack and posted about
his mental state and whether
people would believe he was
sane, a law enforcement
official said Friday.
Also, one of the possibili
ties investigators are look
ing into is whether gunman
Ian David Long believed his
former girlfriend would be
at the bar, the official said.
Authorities have not
determined a motive for
Wednesday’s night ram
page at the Borderline Bar
& Grill.
The official — who was
briefed on the investigation
but not authorized to dis
cuss it publicly and spoke
to The Associated Press on
condition of anonymity —
would not give additional
details on what the 28-year-
old former Marine posted
on his Facebook and Insta-
gram accounts.
Neither Facebook nor
Instagram had any imme
diate comment.
Long, a former machine
gunner who served in
Afghanistan, opened fire
with a handgun during col
lege night at the bar, then
apparently killed himself
as scores of police officers
closed in.
As investigators worked
to figure out what set him
off, President Donald
Trump blamed mental ill
ness, describing the gunman
as “a very sick puppy” who
had “a lot of problems.”
Investigators have not
commented on whether
mental illness played a role
in the rampage. But a men
tal health specialist who
assessed Long after police
were called about his agi
tated behavior last spring
worried he might be suf
fering from post-traumatic
stress disorder.
The incident happened in
April, when one of the loud
and repeated fights he had
with his mother at the home
was so bad that a next-door
neighbor called police. The
mental health specialist
concluded there were no
grounds to have him invol
untarily committed.
At the White House,
Trump touted his efforts to
fund work on PTSD among
veterans. He declined to
engage on questions on
whether the nation needs
stricter gun control laws.
The dead in the shooting
rampage included sheriffs
Sgt. Ron Helus, a 29-year
veteran gunned down as
he entered the bar, and
Telemachus Orfanos, 27,
‘I was concerned
because I knew
he had been in
the military.’
Tom Hanson
Neighbor of
Ian David Long
who survived last year’s
massacre in Las Vegas,
where a gunman in a high-
rise hotel opened killed 58
people at an outdoor coun
try music festival.
Authorities in Thousand
Oaks described an assault
of military efficiency. None
of those injured was hurt by
gunfire, authorities said.
Instead, when Long shot, he
killed.
“Every Marine is trained
in urban warfare and
indoor gun fighting,” said
Marc Bender, an instructor
for emergency responders
in Riverside County, Cali
fornia. “Every Marine is a
marksman.”
Julie Hanson, who lives
next door to the ranch-style
home that Long shared
with his mother, described
him as “odd” and “disre
spectful” well before he
left home a decade ago, got
married and enlisted in the
Marines. She could often
hear him yelling and curs
ing, but several months ago
unusually loud banging and
shouting prompted her hus
band to call authorities.
“I was concerned
because I knew he had
been in the military,” Tom
Hanson said.
About 18 months ago,
Don and Effie MacLeod
heard “an awful argument”
and what he believes was
a gunshot from the Longs’
property. Don MacLeod
said he did not call police
but avoided speaking with
Ian Long.
“I told my wife, ‘Just be
polite to him. If he talks,
just acknowledge him, don’t
go into conversation with
him,”’ Don MacLeod said.
BY DON THOMPSON
AND GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press
PARADISE-A fierce
wildfire in Northern Cali
fornia incinerated most
of a town of about 30,000
people with flames that
moved so fast there was
nothing firefighters could
do, authorities said Fri
day. Nine people died in
what quickly grew into the
state’s most destructive
fire in at least a century.
Only a day after it
began, the blaze near
the town of Paradise
had grown to nearly
140 square miles, had
destroyed more than
6,700 structures — almost
all of them homes — and
was burning completely
out of control.
“There was really no
firefight involved,” Capt.
Scott McLean of the Cali
fornia Department of
Forestry and Fire Protec
tion said, explaining that
crews gave up attacking
the flames and instead
helped people get out
alive. “These firefighters
were in the rescue mode
all day yesterday.”
With fires also burn
ing in Southern Califor
nia, state officials put the
total number of people
forced from their homes
at about 250,000. Evacu
ation orders included
the entire city of Malibu,
which is home to 13,000,
among them some of Hol
lywood’s biggest stars.
President Donald
Trump issued an emer
gency declaration pro
viding federal funds for
Butte, Ventura and Los
Angeles counties.
When Paradise was
evacuated, the order set
off a desperate exodus in
which many motorists got
stuck in gridlocked traffic
and abandoned their vehi
cles to flee on foot. People
reported seeing much of
the community go up in
flames, including homes,
supermarkets, businesses,
restaurants, schools and a
retirement center.
Rural areas fared lit
tle better. Many homes
have propane tanks that
were exploding amid
the flames. “They were
going off like bombs,”
said Karen Auday, who
escaped to a nearby town.
McLean estimated that
the lost buildings num
bered in the thousands
in Paradise, about 180
miles northeast of San
Francisco.
“Pretty much the com
munity of Paradise is
destroyed. It’s that kind of
devastation,” he said.
While the cause of the
fire wasn’t known, Pacific
Gas & Electric Company
told state regulators it
experienced an outage on an
electrical transmission line
near Paradise about 15 min
utes before the blaze broke
out. The company said it later
noticed damage to a trans
mission tower near the town.
The utility’s filing was first
reported by KQED News.
The massive blaze spread
north Friday, prompting offi
cials to order the evacuation
of Stirling City and Inskip,
two communities north of
Paradise along the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
The wind-driven flames
also spread to the west and
reached Chico, a city of
90,000 people. Firefighters
were able to stop the fire at
the edge of the city, Cal Fire
Cpt. Bill Murphy said.
There were no signs of
life on the road to Paradise
except for an occasional bird
chirp. A thick haze from the
fire hung in the air and gave
the appearance of twilight.
Strong winds had blown the
blackened needles on ever
greens straight to one side.
A scorched car with its doors
open sat on the shoulder.
At one burned-out house,
flames still smoldered inside
what appeared to be a weight
room. The rubble included
a pair of dumbbells with the
rubber melted off and the
skeletons of a metal pullup
bar and other exercise equip
ment. The grass and elabo
rate landscaping all around
the brick and stucco home
remained an emerald green.
Red pool umbrellas were
furled near lounge chairs and
showed not a singe on them.
Evacuees from Paradise
sat in stunned silence Fri
day outside a Chico church
where they took refuge the
night before. They all had
harrowing tales of a slow-
motion escape from a fire so
close they could feel the heat
in their vehicles as they sat
stuck in a traffic jam.
When the order came to
evacuate, it was like the town
of 27,000 residents decided to
leave at once, they said. Fire
surrounded the evacuation
route, and drivers panicked.
Some crashed and others
left their vehicles by the
roadside.
“It was just a wall of fire on
each side of us, and we could
hardly see the road in front
of us,” police officer Mark
Bass said.
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