Cook’s Corner shooting live: Suspect John Snowling’s divorce details revealed as first victim identified

Police only named one of the fatal victims: 67-year-old John Leehey of Irvine, California

One of the other two victims was a woman dining near Marie Snowling, The woman exited the bar and reached the roadway before succumbing to her injuries.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department said on Thursday that Snowling opened fire on his estranged wife Marie Snowling, her dining companion, and another man who approached him as Snowling tried to retrieve more weapons from his vehicle.

Snowling then started shooting indiscriminately, police said. Snowling killed three people and wounded six others before he was taken down by police within minutes of starting the carnage.

Marie Snowling, who was shot in the face, survived the shooting and is recovering in hospital.

Sheriff Don Barnes said that Snowling did not exchange any words with his estranged wife before the violence unfolded.

Mr Barnes highlighted that although the Cook’s Corner “may have been a biker’s bar thirty years ago,” it is now a place for families and the community to gather.

Deputies were at the scene within two minutes and located Snowling in the parking lot of the Cook’s Corner. He then reportedly began shooting at deputies with a shotgun and struck a patrol car’s windshield.

The four weapons seized by authorities had been purchased legally.

Mr Barnes said Snowling travelled from Ohio, where he owned a property, before the shooting.

It began just like any other Wednesday night at the popular biker bar.

Motorcycle riders and enthusiasts had gathered for drinks, food and fun with friends at Cook’s Corner, one of the most famous biker bars and restaurants in southern California.

But, this one night took a devastating turn when a gunman opened fire, leaving at least three people dead and many others injured.

The Independent’s Faiza Saqib reports:

A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation who spoke with the Los Angeles Times under the condition of anonymity said that Snowling had three guns: two handguns and a shotgun used during his confrontation with police.

The Orange County’s Sheriff Office told KTLA on Thursday that it could not be confirmed whether Snowling was struck by deputies’ gunfire but that “it was safe” to assume so.

So far this year, the US has witnessed at least 465 mass shootings, according to the nonprofit group Gun Violence Archive.

The US crossed 400 shootings mark in July, the earliest ever recorded in a year since 2013, it said.

The Independent’s Alex Woodward filed this report last month:

Snowling’s estranged wife Marie Snowling was shot during the altercation.

Despite earlier reports that she had not survived the attack, her father William Mosby told The Orange County on Thursday that Ms Snowling is recovering from her injuries at Providence Mission Hospital Mission Viejo.

“Her friend in the bar said she was shot in the lower jaw,” Mr Mosby told the outlet. “I’m extremely relieved, what I heard was the worst.”

Mr Mosby described Snowling as a “crazy husband” who couldn’t cope with Ms Snowling’s request for a divorce.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Marie Snowling filed for divorce in December 2022.

A neighbour of the Snowlings told the Times that he believed the Snowlings’ marital issues stemmed from Ms Snowling wanting to go out more often, while her estranged husband wanted to stay at home.

“John was always kind of a standoffish kind of person,” James Goldsmith, 68, told the outlet. “He wasn’t the most personable guy, not that I can say that there was anything really negative. He wasn’t the type of neighbour that you’d get the warm fuzzies from.”

Mr Goldmisth said that Ms Snowling had moved out and now lived with her mother after she filed for divorce last year.

Snowling had recently bought a home in Ohio and was spending most of his time there, Mr Goldsmith said.

“I think it reached a point where it felt like life was passing her by because he didn’t want to do anything,” Mr Goldmisth told the Times.

“He would barely maintain the house. I think she wanted to have friends and live life and that’s why I think she made the move that she did. It’s sad that he couldn’t allow that and let her live her own life.”

A law enforcement official who spoke about the shooting under the condition of anonymity told The New York Times that the suspected gunman was targeting his wife Marie Snowling when he carried out the Thursday attack at Cook’s Corner.

Ms Snowling’s wife was injured but survived the attack, according to her father.

John Snowling, a retired law enforcement officer, was killed during the confrontation.

Three other people died in the carnage, while six others were wounded.

Four people were killed during the attack, and six others were injured during the violence.

Two of the wounded remain in critical condition.

Local officials have not identified the victims, but family members and friends have confirmed that Marie Snowling, the gunman’s estranged wife, is among the injured.

She is being treated for gunshot wounds.