What we know about the gunman in the Thousand Oaks bar shooting

Here's what we know about Ian David Long so far:

The gunman's body was found in the bar

The shooter is dead, and his body was found inside the bar, police said. He was dead when police arrived on the scene, Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said.

Dean said he believed that the gunman killed himself.

The gunman used one handgun

Dean said that officials found a Glock .45-caliber handgun at the scene that was purchased legally. The weapon usually holds 10 rounds, plus one in the chamber, but the gunman used an extended magazine in this shooting, Dean said.

Dean said he did not know of the shooter's motive, and he did not know of any connection between Long and the Borderline bar.

The gunman had previous run-ins with the law

Police had several contacts with Long previously.

In April, officers responded to a disturbance at Long's home, and he was somewhat irate and acting irrationally, Dean said. A mental health specialist met with him and ultimately decided not to detain him under laws pertaining to his mental health.

The gunman was on active duty with the US Marine Corps from August 2008 to March 2013, according to Defense Department records.

The gunman started firing suddenly

The gunman was dressed in black and wearing glasses when he walked into the bar filled with people enjoying a night of line dancing.

"I started hearing these big pops. Pop, pop, pop. There was probably three or four, I hit the ground," John Hedge told CNN affiliate KABC.

Holden Harrah told CNN the gunman opened fire within seconds.

"This guy just came out of nowhere and came out with a gun and shot people in Thousand Oaks, California," Harrah said. "And that's what's really blowing my mind, it's a really safe area."

Reports of the shooting came in around 11:20 p.m. PT.

"I heard a gunshot, I turned around and I saw him shoot a couple more times," California Lutheran University student Teylor Whittler told KABC. "Within a split second, everybody yelled 'get down,' " she said.

Witnesses said that people dropped to the floor and hid behind bar stools in stunned silence. Others jumped over chairs and broke windows to get out of the bar.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz, Cheri Mossburg, Ryan Browne and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.

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