Donald Trump brands California gunman 'a very sick puppy' and blames ex-Marine's mental illness

Donald Trump made the comments at the White House
EPA
Jacob Jarvis9 November 2018

Donald Trump has branded the gunman who killed 12 people in California a "very sick puppy" as he blamed the tragedy on the ex-Marine's mental illness.

The President said Ian David Long, who was found dead in the office of the Borderline Bar where he killed a dozen of those inside, had a "lot of problems".

Former marine Long opened fire at the country music bar in Thousand Oaks, California, on Wednesday

He was seen by a mental health specialist in April who worried the 28-year-old might have post-traumatic stress disorder.

David Long carried out the attack in Thousand Oaks

A law enforcement official told the Associated Press that Long posted to social media during the attack.

They reported that Long had Facebook and Instagram accounts and posted about his mental state as well as whether people would believe he was sane.

Investigators have not formally commented on a motive for the shooting nor have they stated whether mental illness was a factor.

President Trump also touted his efforts to fund PTSD support among veterans.

However, he declined to engage on questions as to whether the nation needed stricter gun control laws.​

Long used a Glock 21 .45 calibre handgun and a smoke bomb in the shooting, for which his motive is still unclear.

On Thursday, President Trump ordered flags at the White House to be flown at half-mast after the tragedy.

However, he was criticised for failing to reign in US gun culture after posting words of condolence on Twitter.

A hero police officer Sgt Ron Helus was identified by police as being among those killed in the mass shooting, after rushing to the scene

Thousand Oaks victims - In pictures

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The husband and father-of-one had been a policeman for 29 years and was a professional firearms instructor.

He was due to retire next year.

The eleven other victims were enjoying a night out in the bar at the time of the killing.

The dead also included a man who had survived last year's massacre in Las Vegas, Telemachus Orfanos, 27.

Thousand Oaks Shooting - In pictures

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"I don't want prayers. I don't want thoughts," said his mother, Susan Schmidt-Orfanos. "I want those b******* in Congress - they need to pass gun control so no one else has a child that doesn't come home."

"Sister Sister" actress Tamera Mowry-Housley and her husband Adam Housley, a former Fox News correspondent, said their 18-year-old niece Alaina Housely, was also among those killed.

"Alaina was an incredible young woman with so much life ahead of her, and we are devastated that her life was cut short in this manner," the couple said in a statement.

It was the deadliest such gun attack in the US since 17 students and teachers were killed at a Parkland, Florida, high school nine months ago.

The house of the shooter has been investigated
AFP/Getty Images

The shooting also came less than two weeks after a gunman massacred 11 people at a synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Democratic Governor-elect Gavin Newsom, in his first public appearance since winning office on Tuesday, shared his disdain towards the violence that has returned to California.

"It's a gun culture," he said. "You can't go to a bar or nightclub? You can't go to church or synagogue? It's insane is the only way to describe it. The normalisation, that's the only way I can describe it. It's become normalised."

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