As many as 10 shot, several dead, at famed Cook's Corner biker bar in Orange County
As many as 10 people were shot, some fatally, Wednesday night at a landmark biker bar in Trabuco Canyon, law enforcement sources said.
Authorities descended on Cook's Corner on Santiago Canyon Road after the shooting was reported around 7:30 p.m.
Two sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the gunman was a retired law enforcement officer.
Sources said the gunman was targeting his estranged wife. It is unclear whether the shooter followed her to the location before opening fire on the crowd, they said.
Authorities were still trying to determine the number of people shot, but there are up to five fatalities. There is no longer an active threat, the source said.
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 evening at 6:30 p.m., according to the venue’s online calendar.
The band posted a video to their Instagram page earlier Wednesday evening showing their 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.
“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," said Senator Dave Min (D-Irvine) in a statement. "My heart breaks for the families and loved ones of the victims."
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.
Motorcycle riders discovered the place in the 1970s, and it has been a popular spot for decades.
Sign up for Essential California, your daily guide to news, views and life in the Golden State.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
