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A number of people at the Borderline restaurant in California where a gunman opened fire had survived the Las Vegas shooting, a friend claims.

At least 11 people have been injured including one police officer at the popular venue in Thousand Oaks, west of Los Angeles.

The man was dressed in black and shot a security guard before firing upon revellers inside.

The Borderline Restaurant & Grill is a Western-themed bar that was hosting college night with the dance floor packed with teenagers and students from the area.

A man being interviewed by local ABC station said he had multiple friends at Borderline who were survivors of the Route 91 shooting in Las Vegas just over a year ago.

"A lot of my friends survived Route 91,” he said. “If they survived that, they will survive this.”

That was the deadliest shooting in US history with 58 people killed.

(Image: ABC7 News)

(Image: Instagram)

The Route 91 festival, attended by 22,000 people, also has a Country and Western theme.

Chandler Gunn, 23, called a friend who works at the Borderline Bar & Grill, who was also at Route 91 in Las Vegas.

"A lot of people in the Route 91 situation go here," he said. "There's people that live a whole lifetime without seeing this, and then there’s people that have seen it twice."

One witness said: "I saw one person shot. It was a hand gun but the guy was throwing smoke grenades."

He added: "People are hitting the deck, running getting out of any window they could.

(Image: KABC)

"I was one of three people who got out the front door and I don't know how we got out the front door."

Another witness inside said: "The gunman walked in and had like a sub machine gun with a big ass magazine. He started popping off and everyone ducked down.

(Image: Getty Images North America) (Image: Getty Images North America)

"He started throwing smoke grenades. People just started jumping out of windows.

"My friend got hit. It went through his shoulder.

"We were behind a barrier and then he popped off another 30 rounds. The cops came and dragged everyone out.

"He had black hair and a black trenchcoat."

It had been a college country night at the venue, which is popular for line dancing events.

(Image: ABC) (Image: Google)

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Police have described it as a 'mass casualty incident' and police helicopters are swirling overhead.

The website for Borderline showed that Wednesday nights are College Country Nights that last from 9pm until 2am.

(Image: Google)

The bar is described as the county's "Largest Country Dance Hall & Live Music Venue" and boasts of 2,500 square feet of open dance floor.

Borderline also has pool tables, games and flat-screen TVs, the website said.

Thousand Oaks has a low crime rate and is considered one of the safest cities in America