These Are the Names and Faces of the Borderline Bar Shooting Victims
Twelve people died on Wednesday night (Nov. 7) in a mass shooting at a country bar in Thousand Oaks, Calif., but the world will not forget them.
It was college night at Borderline Bar & Grill when a gunman burst in, deployed a smoke device and began firing into the crowd of assembled patrons. Many of the Borderland victims were very young, adding to the heartbreak and sorrow of their loss.
There were several heroes among the lives that were taken, including a 29-year veteran law enforcement officer who intended to retire next year. Another of the victims protected his sister by jumping in front of her when the shooting started.
Two of the victims worked at the bar, and there were several branches of the military represented; one of the Thousand Oaks victims was a former Navy SEAL, and another one had served in the Marines, while a third intended to enlist in the Army. Incredibly, one of the victims, 27-year-old Telemachus Orfanos, had previously survived the mass shooting that took place at the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting in Las Vegas in 2017 before getting gunned down in a local bar.
Several of the victims were college students or recent graduates, in some cases still living at home with their parents.
Orfanos' mother, Susan Orfanos, made an impassioned plea for gun control when she spoke to reporters about her son's death.
"I don't want prayers. I don't want thoughts. I want gun control, and I hope to God nobody else sends me any more prayers," she said emphatically. "I want gun control. No. More. Guns."
In an agonizing press conference, Jason Coffman, whose 22-year-old son, Cody Coffman, died in the California mass shooting, recalled seeing his son for the last time as he walked out the door to go to the bar.
"First thing I said was, 'Please don't drink and drive,'" he shares, according to ABC News. "Last thing I said was, 'Son, I love you.'"
Others of the Borderline shooting victims were fathers. Many of the victims' families have spoken out to share stories of their loved ones, and we've gathered their names, faces and stories so that their memories may live on.
Remember the Borderline Bar and Grill Shooting Victims: