The dead suspect in a tragic Wednesday night bar shooting in California is a Marine veteran. But that gunman also took the life of another Marine.
Dan Manrique, a Marine veteran and head of the Ventura, California, chapter for Team Red, White & Blue, was killed when a gunman opened fire at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California.
“We are heartbroken to confirm that Dan Manrique, Pacific Regional Program Manager for Team RWB and Marine Corps veteran, was one of the victims of the Borderline shooting in Thousand Oaks last night,” Bana Miller, a spokeswoman for Team RWB, told Marine Corps Times Thursday in an emailed statement.
“Dan’s life was dedicated to serving others, during his military career and beyond. All of us at Team RWB are keeping all those impacted by this tragedy in our thoughts and prayers,” she wrote.
RELATED
According to a memorial page on Team RWB’s website, Manrique “served with 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, as a radio operator, and deployed to the Middle East in 2007 with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit.”
The suspected gunman, Ian David Long, was a veteran of the Afghan war, having deployed to the war-torn country in 2010.
“That ex-Marine’s despicable actions run counter to what the vast majority of veterans are rightfully known for: serving w/ honor then making positive contributions to society,” Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert Neller tweeted Thursday.
Twelve people lost their lives in the California shooting.
Task & Purpose first reported that Manrique was killed in Wednesday’s shooting.
Shawn Snow is the senior reporter for Marine Corps Times and a Marine Corps veteran.
