A gunman opened fire at a bar in California on Wednesday, killing three people and injuring several others, local police said, adding the suspect was deceased.
“We confirm that four people died at the scene, including the shooter. Six were taken to the hospital, including five with gunshot wounds,” the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said on X (ex-Twitter).
“During the incident there was a shooting involving a police officer,” police said, adding that none of their members were injured.
According to unnamed sources quoted by the Los Angeles Times newspaper, the shooter, a retired police officer, was targeting his estranged wife.
Cook’s Corner Bar in south Los Angeles, where the shootings took place, is a well-known hangout for local bikers.
The United States pays a very high price for the proliferation of firearms on its territory and for the ease with which Americans have access to them.
The country has more individual guns than residents: one in three adults owns at least one gun, and almost one in two adults lives in a house where there is a gun.
The consequence of this proliferation is the very high rate of firearm-related deaths in the United States, unmatched by other developed countries.