Authorities visited the Thousand Oaks shooter earlier this year and found him 'irate, acting a little irrationally', but didn't take him in

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November 8, 2018 4:46 PM

The Thousand Oaks gunman had a run-in with sheriff's deputies earlier this year that resulted in mental-health specialists being called to his home.

The Thousand Oaks gunman had a run-in with sheriff's deputies earlier this year that resulted in mental-health specialists being called to his home, though they declined to take him to a psychiatric facility for involuntary commitment, authorities said Thursday.

Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean identified the shooter on Thursday as 28-year-old Ian David Long of Newbury Park, California.

Dean said Long fatally shot 12 victims inside the Borderline Bar & Grill on Wednesday night before killing himself.

At a press conference, Dean said deputies were called to Long's home in April for a "subject disturbing" incident, and found him "somewhat irate, acting a little irrationally."

"They called out our crisis intervention team," Dean said. "Our mental-health specialists who met with him, talked to him, and cleared him."

He added that the mental-health specialists eventually left him at the scene because they didn't feel Long met the criteria for being involuntarily held under California's Code Section 5150, which allows authorities to detain someone for evaluation and treatment for up to 72 hours.

Dean said his deputies had several prior encounters with Long, though they were "minor events," including a traffic collision and a battery Long was the victim of in 2015.

Authorities said Long was armed Wednesday night with a Glock 21 .45-caliber handgun purchased legally, though it was outfitted with an illegal extended magazine.

They said they had not yet discovered a motive for the shooting.

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