A retired Ventura Police Department sergeant being sued by his wife for divorce was targeting her when he killed three people and injured six others at a popular Orange County biker bar.
John Patrick Snowling, 59, opened fire Wednesday night at Cook’s Corner before he was fatally shot in a barrage of bullets by Orange County Sheriff’s deputies near his truck, authorities said. District Attorney Todd Spitzer said Thursday that seven sheriff’s deputies fired at least 75 rounds at Snowling, who had entered the bar with two handguns and returned to his truck to grab a third and a 12-gauge shotgun.
For related news: Cook’s Corner adds to Orange County’s history of mass shootings, attacks
Inside the bar, Snowling marched up to his estranged wife, Marie Snowling, and without an argument or a fight, shot her in the the lower jaw, authorities said. Marie was first taken to Providence Mission Hospital and then to UCI Medical Center, according to her family and sources. An attorney in the divorce case said she lived in Orange County, while John Snowling stayed in Ohio. Their home in Camarillo appeared Thursday to be unoccupied and in disrepair.
One of the dead was identified by authorities Thursday as respected landscape architect John Leehey, 67, of Irvine. The other two fatalities — a man and a woman — have not been publicly identified, because authorities are still trying to locate their families, said Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes at a Thursday news conference. The names of the injured also have not been released.
Records show that Marie Snowling filed for divorce in December 2022. A man who said he was like a father to her, William Mosby, in an interview Wednesday described John Snowling as a “crazy husband” who couldn’t deal with the divorce.
State records show Snowling was a licensed private investigator who previously worked from Nov. 11, 1986 to Feb. 28, 2014 with the Ventura Police Department. He retired as a sergeant. He had a state firearms permit that expired in 2017; it wasn’t immediately clear if he had an updated permit.
Laura England, a 60-year-old real estate agent, said her friend was celebrating her birthday Wednesday night at Cook’s Corner when she was fatally shot by John Snowling.
“We are trying to make sense of this senseless tragedy,” England said in an interview Thursday.
Another killed was Leehey, a well-known landcape architect and planner with more than 35 years of experience.
His work included included planning and management of numerous master planned communities, including Ladera Ranch in South Orange County.
“He was someone very well respected in the community and involved in the building industry association,” said Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley. “The impacts on our community from this horrible shooting are far reaching.”
Six victims were taken to Mission Hospital after the shooting. Marie Snowling was transferred to UCI Medical Center. Another patient was shot in the chest and remained in critical condition at Mission on Thursday.
Other victims included a man shot in the arm who was to have surgery on Thursday, two men with minor injuries and another man treated and released Wednesday night, according to Mission Hospital.
The melee at Cook’s Corner broke out about 7:04 p.m. during $8 Spaghetti Night. Marie Snowling headed to the spaghetti feed that night as she did every week. Two birthday parties were underway and a band was playing when the bullets flew, sending customers and crew running for cover.
Two members of the M Street pop band, which was performing, were shot but are expected to survive, friends said.
“It was a happy group of people celebrating two birthdays,” band member Debbie Johnson said of the bar patrons.
She and her husband, Mark, who’s also in the band, hid behind speakers as the gunman came within 5 feet of them.
They saw him “so deliberately “ shoot two people, Johnson said.
The band continued playing after the first few shots rang out, thinking it was a birthday gag. But it soon became clear it was all too real.
Social media posts showed a massive response by deputies, police from other agencies and Orange County Fire Authority personnel. Officers arrived within two minutes of being called and paramedics were treating victims within four minutes, authorities said.
The scene was one of chaos and fear and telephoned warnings from inside the bar to steer clear of the bloody scene.
“This is real… 4 or 6 shots strait (sic) at me. But he missed me. Thank you, God!!” wrote Betty Fruichantie as she posted several videos and photos from the massacre on Facebook.
Donna Busher was just finishing up a bicycle ride with friends. The group was heading back to their cars in the bar’s back parking lot when they heard gunshots.
“One of the girl’s boyfriends was at Cook’s and called her. He was hiding and told us to stay put,” Busher said in a message through Facebook. “Another girl had a family member in the police department and informed us the shooter was down so we took off towards Cook’s. The whole street was blocked off and police and firetrucks and ambulances were everywhere.
“So sad for all involved,” Busher added, “but we were all OK.”
Jacquelyn Mizani and her boyfriend, Dan Creed, walked over from their home nearby and stood outside the police line Thursday afternoon watching patrol cars shuffle in and out of the crime scene.Mizani said she’s been eating at Cook’s Corner since she was a young girl and still visits several times a week.
“If we didn’t have billiards last night, we probably would have been eating dinner there,” she said. “That’s how often we are here.”
Mizani called Cook’s Corner a “peaceful place” where bikers from all different backgrounds could be together with no issues.
Hailey Means, whose father, Ed, is the guitarist for the band that was performing at the time of the shooting and one of the wounded, posted Thursday on Instagram that he was “stable and doing good.”
“Extremely grateful today to still have my dad,” Hailey Means wrote. “Life is so precious and the evil in this world is unimaginable.”
Means posted a photo captioned “thumbs up from dad,” with her message, writing “for all of you who know and love my dad, you know he is the best man in the world.” Means and her family did not respond to requests for an interview.
“Thankful for the angels watching over him and the rest of the band last night,” Hailey Means said in her social post.
Several bikers throughout the day Thursday gave long looks at the crime scene as they rode past.Zeke Rich, an engineer and motorcycle rider, said he visits Cook’s Corner every day for his usual lunch of a chicken salad. He called Cook’s Corner “neutral ground” where anyone from any background was welcome.
Cook’s Corner on its website promotes cold beer and good food and touts, “Children welcome.” “Cook’s Corner is considered to be one of the most famous biker bars & restaurants in Southern California,” the site states.
“For all the guys who like to come here with their bikes – hang out, have a beer – this messes it all up,” said Rich, whose parents began bringing him to Cook’s Corner decades ago.
Bikers are already planning a big memorial, Rich said, but it was too early to offer details.“It’s sad what’s happened,” he said.
Orange County law enforcement officials executed a search warrant at Snowling’s home in Camarillo on Thursday, with SWAT and other officers on hand.
Lilian Bruce, whose sister lives in the neighborhood, said her niece and nephew were good friends with the Snowling children. She said her family was at dinner the night of the shooting when her niece called saying she had to get to Orange County. She said both her niece and nephew had rushed to be with Snowling’s son, Patrick, that night.
She said Patrick was waiting to see his mother, who was recovering in an Orange County hospital after being shot.
The Snowling home sits in the southeast corner of a Camarillo subdivision just north of Adolfo Camarillo High School. The homes here — all white or beige stucco with burnt orange tile roofs and small, tidy front lawns — were all built around 1997 or ’98, neighbors said.
Police tape fluttering in a light breeze blocked off the cul-de-sac at the end of El Capitan Place. By midmorning, the SWAT team armed with rifles piled out of a black van in front of one of the homes.
Before they entered, they ordered anyone inside to come out. After a brief wait, the team began scouting the outside of the home before finally getting into the backyard through a side gate.
From a neighbor’s yard just behind Snowling’s home, the dead man’s unkempt backyard was visible: A pool and jacuzzi were nearly dried up, only dark water collecting at the bottom. Some gardening and pool equipment was just visible through tall patches of dead grass and weeds.
In Orange County, Saddleback church will have a prayer outreach with Pastor Andy Woods on Friday at 7 p.m. “Come if you can to begin the healing. Shout out to Cooks biker community to ride to the church and be present,” the announcement says.
The Norbertine priests of St. Michael’s Abbey, a Catholic monastery down the street from Cook’s Corner, along Silverado Canyon Road, called for prayers and comfort for all victims of violence. The priests shared memories of visiting the biker bar over the years “to eat, pray, and to join in fellowship” with patrons.
“Our hearts are broken at the unspeakable tragedy that has occurred in our canyon community at Cook’s Corner,” community members wrote on social media. “For decades and generations, our neighbors down the hill have been more like family than neighbors… we now lift up to heaven our grieving hearts, and ask God to send many angels to comfort those of us experiencing grief.”
Jo-Ellen Melendez — who has three children who attended the now-closed St. Michael’s Preparatory School, at the abbey’s former location run by the Norbertines — said that Cook’s Corner holds many memories for her family.“Cook’s Corner was a quiet, unique and respected bar and neighbor to the community. So very sorry gun violence brought so much sadness into this legendary corner,” she shared on Facebook Thursday.
“At this point, it looks like the emergency response was quite good. Deputies were there very, very quickly,” Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner, whose district includes Trabuco Hills, said Thursday morning.
“It appears they’re the ones who took down the shooter. So, good on them for stopping any further carnage,” he said. “The fire authority folks were out there and immediately giving aid. Six people got off to the hospital right away. The emergency response at this point looks to be something (of which) we could all be quite proud.”
Spitzer said his office would review the law enforcement shooting, but he hasn’t found any evidence to believe “in any way whatsoever that their acts were nothing less than heroic and that nothing they did last night indicates any criminal activity or excessive use of force in any way whatsoever.”.
Staff writers Sean Emery, Nathanial Percy, Annika Bahnsen, Michael Slaten, Destiny Torres and Allyson Vergara contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. More information will be added as it becomes available.
At least 9 shot at biker bar in Orange County’s Trabuco Canyon; 4 confirmed dead
