The deputy sergeant killed during the Thousand Oaks mass shooting died from a bullet fired by a California Highway Patrol officer who was also trying to stop the suspect, Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub said in a Friday news conference.

The suspect’s gunfire hit Sgt. Ron Helus five times, but that gunfire was not necessarily fatal.

“We are deeply saddened to inform you that Sgt. Helus was also struck by a sixth bullet, which we now know … was fired from the CHP officer’s rifle,” the sheriff said. “Tragically, that bullet struck vital organs and was fatal.”

Authorities made the discovery when FBI crime-lab analysis showed that the lethal bullet matched the type that came from the officer’s weapon.

Ayub said the news was “extremely difficult” to process and understand, particularly for Helus’ wife, Karen, and adult son Jordan.

Dr. Christopher Young, Ventura County’s chief medical examiner, told reporters that the wounds from the suspect’s gunfire were “potentially survivable” but that the one from the officer hit his heart.

Young previously said there was no evidence that the victims inside the Borderline were struck by gunfire from the CHP officer or Helus.

“We were aware of the injuries sustained by Sgt. Helus, but we needed confirmation from ballistics and it wasn’t certain that it was friendly fire,” he said Friday.

Ayub described the situation as chaotic and confusing that night, Nov. 7, with people running through the parking lot, jumping out windows to escape and many visibly bleeding amid the sound of shots ringing out as the officers approached the building.

When Helus and the CHP officer entered, they were ambushed “almost immediately” by the gunman amid smoke, darkness and chaos, he said. Helus and the CHP officer, he said, willingly went into “what can only be described as a combat situation, risking their own lives to save many others.”

“It’s a tragic detail that I don’t think was avoidable,” Ayub said.

Officials would not discuss the position of the deputy, who was wearing a protective vest, and the CHP officer when the deputy was struck. They also did not say whether Helus was shot from the front or the back.

Ayub said the circumstances of that fatal shot — whether the officer accidentally discharged his gun, for example, or was shooting at the suspect — were still under investigation.

Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub said that Sgt. Ron Helus killed during the Thousand Oaks mass shooting, died from a bullet fired by a California Highway Patrol officer who was also trying to stop the suspect. On Friday, Dec.7, 2018, Dr. Christopher Young, Ventura CountyÕs chief medical examiner and CHP Costal Division Chief, L.D. Maples, listen during the press conference at the Ventura County Sheriff office in Thousand Oaks, CA. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Thousand Oaks resident, Cari Akerley, wipes away a tear as she visits the Borderline memorial for the first time on Friday, Dec. 7, 2018. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Sound The gallery will resume in seconds

A photo at the Borderline memorial of Sgt. Ron Helus, killed during the mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, CA. on Friday, Dec. 7, 2018. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)



Ayub said two CHP officers were in the area that night when they saw victims fleeing from the bar.

Helus, who received a report of shots fired and people down inside the bar, was dispatched to the area. After hearing shots fired, Helus and one of the CHP officers decided to enter the bar to stop the shooter, he added.

Both Helus and the CHP officer entered nearly simultaneously, Ayub said.

Helus “happened to be between the CHP officer and the gunman,” he said.

LD Maples, chief of the California Highway Patrol’s Coastal Division, told reporters that he broke the news to the officer that it was his bullet that appeared to cause Helus’ death.

“He was devastated,” Maples said. “(He’s) a consummate professional, well-trained with a military background.”

The officer, a nine-year department veteran, was taking time off from duty.

“The mere thought of something like this happening is devastating to all of us who are sworn to protect and save lives,” Maples said.

The gunman who terrorized the packed Borderline Bar and Grill fired 50-plus rounds striking 13 victims, with only one surviving, and tossed smoke grenades, authorities have said.

Ian David Long, 28, of Newbury Park had seven high-capacity, 30-round magazines in his possession, five of which were found fully loaded after the suspect fatally shot 12 people and then took his own life, the sheriff has said previously.

His motive remains unknown.

Long was a 28-year-old U.S. Marine veteran who had previously been at Borderline as a customer. Nearly two dozen other people were wounded in the chaos.

The victims who were killed ranged in age from 18 to 54. They included a Pepperdine University student, a promoter for the bar who planned to join the U.S. Coast Guard, and an ex-Marine sergeant who dedicated his life to helping emotionally scarred veterans get back on their feet.

Helus had a 29-year career and took on challenging assignments including narcotics investigator, firearms instructor and member of the SWAT team.

Sheriff Ayub said the news about how Helus died does not diminish the “heroic actions” both men showed at the Borderline that night.

“It’s important to remember that the horrific circumstances of the Borderline Bar and Grill on that Wednesday night, exactly one month ago today were caused by the evil actions of one individual, the man who murdered 12 people and injured 22 others,” Ayub said. “He alone created the violence and he alone bears the responsibility for his course of action.”