Edhat Staff
By the edhat staff
A retired Ventura Police officer has been named the gunman in a deadly shooting at Cook’s Corner in Orange County on Wednesday evening that left three dead and six others injured.
Retired Sergeant John Snowling, 59, served at the Ventura Police Department from July 1986 through February 2014 until retiring and owns a home in Camarillo.
Orange County Sheriff’s officials received a 911 call just after 7 p.m. about a shooting at Cook’s Corner, a popular biker bar and family restaurant, on Santiago Canyon Road in Trabuco Canyon.
Snowling entered the bar around 7 p.m. Wednesday during the restaurant’s weekly $8 spaghetti night that reportedly brings a big crowd, including a lot of families. He was armed with two handguns and walked up to his estranged wife and immediately shot her once then shot the woman next to her. His wife is in critical condition and the woman next to her later died, reports the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheriff’s Office states Snowling then started “randomly shooting” at patrons inside and outside the venue. He then returned to his vehicle in an upper parking lot when a man tried to stop him. That man was shot and later died.
Deputies arrived within two minutes of the 911 call and engaged Snowling in the parking lot where he began firing multiple rounds towards the deputies, striking police vehicles. Seven deputies on the scene returned fire, at least 75 shots, that ultimately took Snowling’s life.
It was later discovered that Snowling had an additional handgun and a shotgun, bringing the total number of weapons to four.
One victim was identified as John Leehey, 67. The identities of the victims have yet to be released.
According to reports, Snowling’s wife Marie was a regular at the establishment and had filed for divorce in December 2022 after being estranged for two years.
Orange County Sheriff’s investigators executed a search warrant of Snowling’s home in Camarillo on Thursday morning.
“Our hearts weigh heavy with the distressing incident at Cook’s Corner,” shared Chief Darin Schindler of the Ventura Police Department. “Our deepest condolences are with the families of the victims, the survivors, add the Orange County deputies who swiftly responded to the scene. This incident deeply affects us all.”
Cook’s Corner is a popular biker bar located in the foothills of Trabuco Canyon, and the area is known for its large gathering of motorcycle enthusiasts.
This is a developing story, and more updates are expected in the coming days.
[Ed Note: This article has been updated with recently released information from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.]
Multple studies have found that FORTY PERCENT or MORE of law enforcement families experience domestic violence. The rate for the general public is 10%. Scary.
639–
It’s nutty. Law enforcement has the highest incidence of domestic violence of any profession.
Maybe if cops got a higher level of training and were better screened there wouldn’t be so much of this.
Alex – Nailed it. When you’re right, you’re right
Alex- Can’t have too much of either of those. I think, like a ton of other people, it’s more about mental health. First responders have to deal with some horrible shit and if they don’t care of their mental health, bad shit happens.
Except paramedics aren’t known for beating their wives…
Just another good guy with a gun. Until he wasn’t.
“When guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns” or some other such BS. People who commit crime are not “outlaws” until they do something illegal. The idea of an “outlaw” gene is absurd.
“The first deputies arrived within minutes and found a man with a gun. Deputies opened fire and killed Snowling. ”
There’s a lot missing in this article. Deputies don’t just arrive at a scene, see a person with a gun and shoot at him.
DOULIE – I would think and hope they do if they’re called to an active shooting. This is the problem with “good guys with guns” (other than retired Ventura cops). If a bunch of civilians are waving around guns trying to shoot back, who are the cops supposed to stop? How do they know who the shooter is? More guns is not the answer.
Ha ha ha. Try it sometime.
> There’s a lot missing in this article. Deputies don’t just arrive at a scene, see a person with a gun and shoot at him.
Ever hear of Tamar Rice? Oh, right, that was a *toy* gun. (And there are numerous other counterexamples to your claim.)
Maybe cops have the toughest job mentally in the world – dealing with criminals, being ready to die in the line of work, and also seeing members of the public at large criticizing them and calling for them to be defunded constantly? You try it…alex et al
Bootlicking response….
So you disagree with my support for more training for police to deal with these issues and better screening to be sure the right people are in the job.
Yeah that makes sense.
Derp blah blah dEfUnD wha wha wha
Clearly this guy lost it. Who knows why. Sad story.
Is that your professional diagnosis? That he “lost it”?
Where do you find “lost it” in the DSM?
There is no DSM for Pseudologists.
Sac, I think you have to ask yourself this – who shoots people and doesn’t have a mental illness? Do you think he was sane when he shot you that place? Really? Wow.
Anyone else hear a muted trumpet? Charlie Brown?
Just a theory, but stats show that men who kill their wives/ exes usually had been abusing them long before the murder. AND the majority of these instances involve a gun. It’s almost like if we banned guns, women and children wouldn’t be senselessly murdered.
“Three reasons guns are used frequently is that they are more efficient than other weapons, can be used impulsively, and can be used to terrorize and threaten.”
Source: https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/230412.pdf
Basic, well millions of soldiers are trained to shoot people and they don’t have mental illness. What’s wrong with you claiming our men and women who have killed to protect us are crazy? Man.
Some do and some don’t. And for the ones that do, it is a horrible thing and I wish them compassion and recovery, and I also wish them real support from the government that asks so much of them. I’m from a family with a long history of military service for this country and one of our nations greatest failings is casting aside or ignoring those who have sacrificed on our behalf. It’s disgusting and a betrayal.
And I think you understand my point, right?
OGSB – but they don’t have PTSD until AFTER they shoot. That’s the point. BASIC says people who shoot people are not sane / mentally ill when they shoot.
Alex- Yeah Soldiers go out and shoot people and come back with PTSD. (A mental illness…)
Basic at 7:39, I am shocked by your statement. The shooter “lost it”? It’s a “sad story”?!
Do you say this about all mass shooters?! sheesh… I’m speechless.
OG – what I mean was the moment you are sent to kill as a soldier you don’t have PTSD. That comes AFTER. So no, I don’t think soldiers have mental illness when they go kill.
OGSB-yes, recall that this began with Basic saying you have to be crazy to shoot someone. My response was that people are trained to do so in service of others and are not crazy when they execute that duty–however, they can suffer terrible mental health impacts as a result. So, cause and effect.
Also, speaking to a self proclaimed medical professional stating that mental illness and insanity are totally different things. Yeah.
Alex 11:49- I agree 100% with this statement. I also re read your post on Soldiers being “trained” to kill. My response was targeted at deployed people. If you have ever been through Basic, it’s a joke. I seriously doubt it would cause PTSD. Cops go through way more crap on a daily basis than someone being “trained to kill” in the military. Apples and oranges.
Sac 11:36- A lot of them never shoot anyone and come back with it. Why? Because of the shit they saw or went through. Just like cops having to see and deal with shit, maybe never shooting anyone, but still have PTSD. They ALL need more help.
All that aside, I agree with Basic that a person who shoots people has something substantially wrong in their brain. I mean what sane person goes out on a killing spree?
Sac 9:53 Me either! I’m talking about “mass shooters” not the people serving and protecting us.
A man was rejected. That’s why. Most people that are rejected have a wide variety of feelings but most don’t decide to kill the rejector let alone strangers nearby.
You may be mentally ill, but not insane. Does that make sense to you?
Oh, but BASIC, you forget YOUR OWN WORDS – “Do you think he was sane when he shot you that place? Really? Wow.” – Now, those of us who can use the English language properly would know that what you are saying is that you think he was “insane.” So now, you’ve said he’s both “insane” (he couldn’t have been sane) but at the same time he only had “mental illness” like “anxiety.” SO….. which is it? Was he insane or just mentally ill?
No, insanity and mental illness are completely different dude. Mental illness includes things like depression, anxiety, and lots of other things. Duh.
It includes doing the same thing over and over, like mucking up a thread with failure to reply properly.
“who shoots people and doesn’t have a mental illness? Do you think he was sane ”
“insanity and mental illness are completely different”
In the same way that like being basic and being a moron are completely different.
“that like”
While I was raised in “the valley”, it was long before they built the Galleria. This was just an editing error.
As a “doctor”, you might be interested in educating yourself further on this topic.
Insanity and mental illness are not “completely different”. Insanity is a word that covers a state of mind which is used in colloquial speech and the legal context. In the legal context it means that a person is unaware of what they are doing to an extent that they can’t be held responsible for their crimes. A number of mental illnesses can create this state including brief psychotic disorder and schizophrenia They are, in that sense, interchangeable and the state of “insanity” is created by the mental illness.
As a medical professional (claimed ad seriously doubtful) who works with a population that may include people experiencing things like the onset of schizophrenia or BPD, you have a duty to understand these things at least on a superficial level.
You’re welcome!
Police are now treated in a very negative light much like the returning Viet Nam soldiers. “Pigs in a blanket, fry ’em like bacon” referring to police during the riots and tumultuous time post George Floyd. No one wants to be a policeman. Yet..”.who ya gonna call”????
Maybe if they were respected as they should be , they would have less emotional problems.
SZQ – racist, murderous cops deserve nothing but violence. Respect is earned, not beaten out of the minority populace.
The shooter, a retired police sergeant, was probably considered by many to be a “good guy with a gun”. Unfortunately, many law abiding good guys with guns become bad guys!
According to a 2020 study by the National Institute of Mental Health, “In a survey of 434 police officers, 12% had a lifetime mental health diagnosis + 26% reported current symptoms of mental illness.”
Many gun laws have exceptions for police and retired police. Maybe this is not a good idea.
Then there is leosa….
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/354
Oh, no thank you!
Introduced in House (01/13/2023)
LEOSA Reform Act
This bill broadens the authority for certain law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms across state lines.
Specifically, the bill allows qualified active and retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms and ammunition (including magazines) in school zones; in national parks; on state, local, or private property that is open to the public; and in certain federal facilities that are open to the public.
Further, the bill permits states to reduce the frequency with which retired law enforcement officers must meet certain qualification standards.
Another shooter who lost it?
“Jacksonville Dollar General store around 1 p.m. in a tactical vest, armed with a handgun and AR-style rifle with swastikas scrawled on it. He killed three people – two men in the store and a woman in the parking lot – before turning the gun on himself, taking his own life, Waters said. The sheriff gave the shooter’s full name as Ryan Christopher Palmeter.
Palmeter left a manifesto the sheriff called the “diary of a madman.” He said it was an irrational document, but that the suspect knew what he was doing. Authorities have not yet released the manifesto. “This guy’s a bad guy,” Waters said.”
2:40pm – no, just another hateful racist with a gun.
I didn’t see this on their site (KEYT 3), but it was reported this afternoon (on-air) that Retired Sergeant John Snowling was as recently 1998 a Santa Barbara Reserve Officer. Imagine that!
Found this: “He started his law enforcement career in 1982, working as a reserve officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/who-was-alleged-cooks-corner-gunman-and-ex-ventura-cop-john-patrick-snowling/ar-AA1fJQmT
…but unable to find the text/info that KEYT 3 said on-air?
https://www.vox.com/23142734/unc-chapel-hill-shooting