Trump blames mental illness in Thousand Oaks bar massacres

As investigators worked to figure out why an ex-Marine slaughtered 12 people at a country music bar, President Trump has blamed mental illness, describing the gunman as "a very sick puppy" who had "a lot of problems."

Investigators haven’t commented on a motive for the rampage or whether mental illness played a role.

But neighbors reported hearing frequent loud fights between Ian David Long and his mother, one of them so extreme they called police in April, and authorities at the time worried that the 28-year-old Afghanistan war veteran might have post-traumatic stress disorder. However, a mental health specialist concluded there were no grounds to have him involuntarily committed for psychiatric evaluation.

On Wednesday night, the former machine gunner, dressed all in black with his hood pulled up, opened fire with a handgun at the Borderline Bar & Grill during college night, then apparently killed himself as scores of police officers closed in.

The dead included sheriff's Sgt. Ron Helus, a 29-year veteran nearing retirement who responded to reports of shots fired and was gunned down as he entered the bar.

And also 27-year-old Telemachus Orfanos who had survived last year's massacre in Las Vegas,