Band members had nowhere to run in OC bar shooting

Live music, the $8 Spaghetti Night special and birthdays.

Those are some of the reasons people visited beloved Cook's Corner Bar Wednesday night in Orange County's scenic Trabuco Canyon where the M Street Band was performing. The band had just finished wishing a woman in the crowd a happy birthday when a night of celebration turned into terror and heartache.

A gunman opened fire inside the bar and restaurant, killing three people and leaving six injured.

"He walked down the center aisle and shot the woman we had just wished happy birthday to," said M Street Band member Debbie Johnson. "She didn't make it."

The Orange County Sheriff's Department Coroner Division identified the deceased victims Friday as Tonya Clark, 49, of Scottsdale, Arizona; John Leehey, 67, of Irvine; and Glen Sprowl Jr., 53, of Stanton.

The gunman continued to randomly open fire on people in the bar, many seated at tables watching the band. The musicians had nowhere to run in the small stage space. Video of the stage setup show walls to the rear and both sides of the stage.

"You know how there's flight or fight? We didn't have the option of flight," musician Debbie Johnson said.

Band members said they were just a few feet away from the gunman, identified by authorities Thursday as a 59-year-old former sergeant with the Ventura Police Department who is believed to have targeted his wife in the crowd at the bar. She was injured, but survived the shooting.

The Johnsons described the shooter as calm and methodical. Two members of the cover band were injured in the melee.

"If he'd have turned to his left 90 degrees, we were at point-blank," band member Mark Johnson said. "I see our bass player who sprinted out the back door. I go check on him. He says, 'Yeah, I've been hit.'"

At that point, they had no idea about the shooter's location. They determined the shooter had left the bar, so Mark Johnson and others tried to secure the doors.

That's when they saw the shooter outside. The sheriff's department said at a news conference Thursday that the gunman went outside to a truck, where he had a third handgun and a 12-gauge shotgun, according to the sheriff's department.

"He peeks over the fence and sees us, and then starts shooting at this metal door that we had just cracked open a little bit, so we pulled it shut," said Mark Johnson. "So it was really a race between, does he try to get back in, or do the good guys get there first."

The good guys arrived with two minutes of the first reports of the shooting. The shooter was shot and killed by responding deputies, the Orange County Sheriff's Department said, bringing the violence to an end.

Overwhelming terror turned to relief for the band members, who have played several gigs at the warm and welcoming venue.

"It's a gathering place," said Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes of Cook's Corner. "It's a place for families to go to share a meal. It's a tight-knit community."

As of Thursday morning, two patients remained in critical condition. Six people were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, including two band members.

A post shared by M Street (@mstband)

"Many thanks to the first responders and trauma team at Mission Hospital for their professionalism and care," the band said in an Instagram post. "Dave and I are on the mend and fortunate to be heading home this evening. Our hearts go out to those that suffered losses. We are grateful for all the kind words and support from you all."

The motive for the attack is still under investigation, law enforcement sources said. Three law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation said the shooter targeted his estranged wife. Ventura County Superior Court records show that Snowling's estranged wife filed for divorce Dec. 21.

The shooting is the deadliest in Orange County since a man opened fire at a real estate office in Orange in March 2021. That shooting left four people, including a 9-year-old boy, dead.

In October 2011, a gunman killed eight people in a shooting at a Seal Beach salon in the county’s deadliest mass shooting.