People threw barstools through window to escape Thousand Oaks, California, bar during shooting

As a gunman wearing black used a bomb and opened fireplace at a bar in Thousand Oaks, California, Wednesday, a number of individuals threw barstools through the bar's windows and helped individualsescape, per witnesses. 

Matt Wennerstrom, 20, told reporters that he and his friends typically visited the Borderline bar and grill, that was hosting a university night once the shooting occurred. Wennerstrom aforesaid he detected a loud sound, and saw a "tall black figure with a small-arm gap fireplace at the staff engaging at the front table." 

"At that time I grabbed as many of us around American state as I might and grabbed them down beneaththe snooker table we tend to were nighest to till he ran out of bullets for that magazine and had to reload," Wennerstrom aforesaid. 

As the gunman reloaded, Wennerstrom aforesaid he and a number of others started throwing barstools through the window and "shuffling as many of us out as doable." 

Twelve individuals were killed, as well as a sheriff's sergeant. The shooter, apparently firing indiscriminately, died at the scene.

Sarah Rose DeSon told farewell America that the gunman gave the impression to throw a bomb within the bar. 

"As presently as we tend to all saw that, we tend to jumped up," DeSon told GMA. "I ran out the front entrance, down some stairs, face-planted within the automobile parking space, however i used to be lucky enough to induce out alive."

Cole Knapp, UN agency aforesaid he goes to Borderline every week, told AP he thought the shooting was somebody "playing a prank.”

“I tried to induce as many of us to hide as I might,” Knapp aforesaid. “There was AN exit right next to American state, thus I went through that. That exit results in a area wherever individuals smoke. individuals out there didn’t very apprehend what was happening. There’s a fence right there thus I aforesaid, ‘Everyone recover from the fence as quickly as you'll be able to, and that i followed them over.”

A enforcement official told The Associated Press the suspect was twenty nine years previous, armed with a .45-caliber small-arm and used a smoke device. The official declined to supply the other details, speaking on condition of obscurity for lack of authorization to in public discuss the investigation.

Wennerstrom, UN agency had blood on his shoulder, aforesaid he and his friends continuing to assistindividuals once they left the bar. 

"At that time there was some of individuals carrying a bloke out UN agency had been shot .... and that theywere obtaining tired thus a number of folks took over, and this can be his blood," Wennerstrom aforesaid.