County releases trove of audio, video recordings from Borderline mass shooting — 3 years later

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office has released extensive audio and video recordings from the 2018 Borderline Bar and Grill massacre after a drawn-out court battle with The Star and other media organizations to keep them private.

The county’s legal counsel notified The Star’s attorney early last year that the government would release the records, but it did not do so until Tuesday.

The recordings show the panic and horror unleashed when a Marine combat veteran opened fire in the crowded Thousand Oaks bar as it hosted a country western-themed “college night” on Nov. 7, 2018.

Related: More complex picture emerges of Borderline gunman, reports show

The county released recordings of police radio communications, 94 emergency calls, security footage from the bar; and 14 videos from the dashboards and body cameras of officers responding to the scene.

Ian David Long fired 61 rounds into the venue filled with more than 250 patrons, killing 11 people, injuring 128 and striking sheriff's Sgt. Ron Helus multiple times before shooting himself dead. The round that killed Helus came from a California Highway Patrol officer in an incident of friendly fire, prosecutors have determined.

A sheriff’s investigation of the shooting, released in July, concluded the gunman was motivated by "a strong disdain for civilians," particularly college students, whom he had said should be "wiped off the map."

The newly released recordings include disturbingly close footage of Long’s assault on officers attempting to enter the bar. They are posted on Sheriff’s Office website and can be viewed at https://bit.ly/2018borderline.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Recordings from Borderline mass shooting released after 3-year fight