Former Coaches of Thousand Oaks Gunman Speak About His Behavior
Two former high school track coaches say the shooter’s behavior as a student was “out of control.” He assaulted one of them during practice.
"He would scream and cuss and his face would turn bright red and people would actually back away from him."
Disturbing information has come out about the Thousand Oaks gunman as his former coaches recall the inappropriate behavior he displayed in high school, including an assault of one of them.
David Long, a 28-year-old former Marine opened fire during a college night at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks Calif., on Wednesday night.
He killed 12 people and then fatally shot himself, reports ABC News.
Evie Cluke, Long’s track coach at Newbury Park High School in 2007 and 2008, says he was volatile and intimidating, would often lose his temper, throw tantrums and scream at coaches.
Cluke even witnessed Long assault another coach, Dominique Colell.
Collell claims the assault took place during practice because she had Long’s phone and wouldn’t give it back, according to CBS LA. She says Long groped her stomach and butt before she could push him off.
“He attacked me. He attacked his high school track coach,” said Colell. “Who does that?”
Immediately following the incident, Colell kicked Long off the team.
Collell was encouraged by other coaches to accept an apology from Long and he was allowed back on the team. She says the coaches did not want Long’s plan to be in the Marine Corps to be ruined.
“I should have reported it then,” Colell said.
According to both coaches, Long once mimicked shooting Colell during practice, causing Colell to fear for her safety when she was around him.
“He was out of control,” Cluke said. “He would scream and cuss and his face would turn bright red and people would actually back away from him.”
Police have yet to determine the motive of the shooter, however, in an Instagram post that went live just before the shooting, Long says there was no reason.
“Fact is I had no reason…life is boring so why not?” the post said. “I hope people call me insane”
Cluke believes it’s time for school administrators to take behavioral problems amongst students more seriously.
“It’s not the military or video games or music that causes this,” she said. “It’s the inaction of people in authority.”
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About the Author
Katie Malafronte, Web Editor
Katie Malafronte is Campus Safety's Web Editor. She graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 2017 with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication Studies and a minor in Writing & Rhetoric. Katie has been CS's Web Editor since 2018.
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All of the mass shooters, with the exception of the terror attacks, were on psychotropic drugs and had a history of mental issues. Every time a good guy with a gun fired at one of these shooters, the killing of innocent people stopped and they either surrendered, killed themselves, fled the scene or were killed by the police. In all instances where intervention with a firearm occurred, the killing of innocent people stopped.
It is significant that in almost all mass shootings either Law Enforcement, school administrators, teachers, parents or friends has some warning in the form of statements or behavior that the future shooter was a potential risk. While privacy and civil rights need to be protected, there is no excuse for failing to follow up on these warnings of future bad acts. The old mantra “I never thought it could happen here” is no longer valid when we get a warning and ignore it. If “you see something say something” needs to be amended to add “and make sure to follow up until what you saw or heard is investigated and appropriate actions taken.” This case is a perfect example of failure to report, and just like transferring a student to a different school they transferred him to the Marines.
“I should have reported it then,” Colell said…. Well, there you go. If you do not report concerning behavior to campus authorities it is hard for them to address it…..