3 killed, 6 injured in mass shooting at Orange County biker bar

A gunman killed three people and six were taken to hospitals after a shooting Wednesday night at a landmark biker bar in Trabuco Canyon, according to the Orange County sheriff.

The gunman was also killed, the Sheriff’s Department posted on social media.

Sheriff’s officials received a 911 call at 7:04 p.m. about the shooting at the Cook’s Corner bar on Santiago Canyon Road. The first deputies arrived within two minutes. At 7:08, deputies found a man with a gun inside the bar, and at least one deputy opened fire, said Sgt. Frank Gonzalez, the public information officer for the Sheriff’s Department.

The shooting scene at Cook’s Corner in Trabuco Canyon on Wednesday.

(OnScene.tv)

Six people were taken to hospitals, with five suffering from gunshot wounds. Two of those shot were listed in critical condition at a Mission Viejo hospital, according to a law enforcement source.

“Our condolences go out to all the families that were affected,” Gonzalez said at a news conference late Wednesday night.

Authorities did not provide details about the identities of the shooting victims or the gunman.

Two sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the gunman, retired from the Ventura Police Department, was targeting his estranged wife. It was unclear whether the shooter followed her to the bar before opening fire on the crowd, they said.

The shooting occurred in the middle of $8 Spaghetti Night.

Orange County Sheriff deputies monitor the scene down the street from Cook’s Corner where 4 people have been killed, including the shooter, and 6 others wounded on Santiago Canyon Road in Trabuco Canyon on August 23, 2023. One deceased person was being kept in a tent, far left.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

A longtime motorcycle hangout, Cook’s Corner sits at the juncture of El Toro, Santiago Canyon and Live Oak Canyon roads, near O’Neill Regional Park.

M Street — a five-piece Orange County rock band — was scheduled to perform at the bar Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., according to the venue’s online calendar.

The band posted a video to its Instagram page earlier Wednesday evening showing its instruments set up on a small stage in the still empty-looking wood-paneled bar.

News of the shooting brought concern from local officials and residents.

Police investigate the scene outside Cook’s Corner where 4 people have been killed, including the shooter, and 6 others wounded on Santiago Canyon Road in Trabuco Canyon on August 23, 2023. One deceased person was being kept in a tent, far left.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

“I’m heartbroken by the news of yet another mass shooting tonight, this time at Cook’s Corner, a historic bar in the heart of Orange County,” state Sen. Dave Min (D-Irvine) said in a statement. “My heart breaks for the families and loved ones of the victims.”

“It’s disturbing to learn that another domestic dispute led to another mass shooting. We must do more to prevent senseless acts of gun violence and protect survivors,” said Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley.

Cook’s Corner was named after Andrew Jackson Cook, who got about 190 acres of Aliso Canyon in a land trade in 1884, according to a Times story. His son, Earl Jack “E.J.” Cook, opened a roadside hamburger joint in 1931. Soon after Prohibition ended in 1933, alcohol was added to the menu, and Cook’s Corner became a full-fledged bar. In 1946, Cook bought an old mess hall from the Santa Ana Army Air Base, hauled it up El Toro Road, and the tavern was born.

First responders attend to people at the shooting scene outside Cook’s Corner in Trabuco Canyon on Wednesday.

(OnScene.tv)

Motorcycle riders discovered the place in the 1970s, and it has been a popular spot for decades.