Orange County mass shooter identified as ex-cop targeting estranged wife, sources say

LOS ANGELES — A gunman who killed three people Wednesday night at a biker bar in Trabuco Canyon and wounded six others — including his estranged wife — was a former police officer, according to officials.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department identified the gunman as John Snowling, a retired Ventura police sergeant. Snowling, 59, was targeting his estranged wife, who was a regular at the Cook’s Corner bar, according to two law enforcement sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The gunman was also killed Wednesday night, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Sheriff’s officials received a 911 call just after 7 p.m. about the shooting at Cook’s Corner on Santiago Canyon Road. The first deputies arrived within two minutes and found a man with a gun, and multiple deputies opened fire, officials said.

Law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times that deputies pinned Snowling down beside a silver truck, where his body remained into the night.

Snowling had two handguns and a shotgun, according to a law enforcement source with detailed knowledge who was not authorized to discuss the investigation and requested anonymity. The shotgun was used in a gun battle with deputies in a parking