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Thousand Oaks Shooter Ian Long Had No Known History Of PTSD, US Military Says

By Lea van der Merwe
Published on: 02:04 PST, Nov 11, 2018

On November 7, 28-year-old Ian Long walked into the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, and opened fire on the more than 100 people, mostly students, who were enjoying a country music event. Twelve people were killed in the shooting, and more than a dozen others were injured. Long then turned the gun on himself.

Following the horrific incident, many suggested that Long, a former marine who served in Afghanistan, was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But according to TMZ, the military has stated there was no record of Long ever contacting the Corps for help regarding his alleged severe PTSD.

Long served in the military from 2010 until 2013. During that time, he served in Afghanistan for a year from 2010 to 2011, and finished up his service in Hawaii. After the shooting, neighbors and a classmate of Long’s stated that he had suffered from PTSD for years.

However, when the military were contacted to confirm this theory and to learn whether or not they had offered him appropriate help, the Marines stated they have no record of him ever seeking their help for the condition. Veterans Affairs added that he had never been enrolled in VA health care at any point in time.

Of course, this doesn’t entirely rule out the possibility that Long might have had PTSD, as he could also have decided to seek help for the condition elsewhere, if at all.

During the shooting, Long posted to social media, writing, “I hope people call me insane.. wouldn’t that just be a big ball of irony? Yeah… I’m insane, but the only thing you people do after these shootings is ‘hopes and prayers’.. or ‘keep you in my thoughts’… every time… and wonder why these keep happening…”

An unnamed friend of Long who was told what had been written didn’t believe it sounded like the man he had known at all.

“That does not sound like Ian to me at all. I don’t know what was going through his head when he wrote this. It must have been terrible.”

According to CNN, it’s not the first time Long’s behavior has raised alarm bells. Back in April this year, police were called to his home as he was “acting somewhat irate and a little irrationally.” At the time, he was met by a mental health expert on the crisis response team, but the expert decided against detaining him for psychiatric issues after speaking with him.

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