Authorities think a man committed a mass shooting in California because he was distraught over getting divorced.
According to reports, John Snowling, 59, entered a well-known motorcycle pub in Orange County on August 23 and started shooting. He was a retired police officer who had worked for close to 30 years, as reported by the law enforcement authorities.
Furious that their marriage was breaking up, he went to Cook’s Corner in Trabuco Canyon, where his wife attended an occasional $8 spaghetti dinner night.
John Snowling, a former police officer from the City of Ventura, was named the suspected shooter who killed three people and injured six others at a well-known motorcycle pub in Orange County.
At the time of the shooting, dozens of customers were inside the 140-year-old bar. Snowling allegedly opened fire on his estranged wife once he was inside the bar. He hit and injured her. The person she was dining with was also killed when he opened fire.
Sheriff Don Barnes of Orange County reported that the man returned to his car after leaving it to get more weapons. Six other persons were hurt, and three people were killed by gunfire.
Customers started making 911 calls to report the incident. As soon as deputies arrived, they confronted the shooter. Snowling was shot by police, who then killed.
In a statement, Ventura Police Chief Darin Schindler expressed his condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones and said that their hearts weigh heavy with the heartbreaking tragedy at Cook’s Corner.
For most people, divorce is a difficult process. They are letting go of an idle possibility they had about sharing their lives with someone, which also makes sense.
Meanwhile, a second shooting occurred in Florida a few days after the initial incident.
Ryan Christopher Palmeter, age 21, drove to Jacksonville, Florida, from a neighboring county on August 26 and started shooting at a Dollar General in a predominantly black neighborhood.
He was driven, as per law enforcement sources, by a ferocious hate of black people. The shooting claimed the lives of three persons. When the police came, the murderer had already committed suicide.
