Intended Target Of Retired Ventura Police Sergeant's Deadly Shooting Rampage Survived

Thursday August 24, 2023

     Orange County authorities say that the intended target of a retired Ventura Police Sergeant's deadly shooting rampage Wednesday night survived while he and three others are dead.

     They say that 59-year-old John Snowling went into Cook's Corner Bar in Trabuco Canyon and shot his estranged wife and eight others, killing three of them .

     Snowling was killed by responding Orange County Sheriff's deputies.

     His ex-wife, who had filed for divorce, survived her gunshot wound and was recovering in the hospital.

     Snowling served with the Ventura Police Department from 1986 through 2014 when he retired as a sergeant.

     Thursday, deputies from the Orange County Sheriff's Office, including their SWAT team, descended on a Camarillo home connected to Snowling to conduct a search for evidence related to the case.

     The authorities say that all of the weapons used by Snowling were obtained legally.