Thousand Oaks shooter's former coach said he sexually assaulted her in high school and was troubled long before the Marine Corps
- Marine combat veteran Ian David Long opened fire in a crowded bar in Thousand Oaks, California, on Wednesday, killing 13.
- Neighbors and law enforcement officials told reporters the shooter may have suffered from PTSD, but offering no evidence of a medical diagnosis or whether he had sought treatment.
- Long's high school track coach Dominique Calell opened up to CBS Los Angeles, saying he sexually assaulted her as a high school student.
- In the interview, Calell was adamant that the shooting is not related to PTSD.
Neighbors and law enforcement officials have told local reporters that the Marine combat veteran who opened fire in a crowded Thousand Oaks bar on Wednesday may have been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from his war service, but his former coach alleges that Long assaulted her, suggesting he was violent well before enlisting.
Ian David Long, the 28-year-old Afghanistan War veteran, walked into Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, late Wednesday night, killing 13. Long also died that evening, of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Sheriff Geoff Dean mentioned previous encounters with Long, including an incident at his mother's home in nearby Newbury Park. Initial reports also cited neighbors who said Long suffered from PTSD.
But Dominique Colell, Long's high school track coach, opened up to CBS Los Angeles, saying she thinks it is unlikely that the shooting was related to his combat experience.
In the interview, which CBS aired, Colell says Long sexually assaulted her when she was his coach a decade earlier, but she was pressured not to report it by her colleagues.
Colell recalled finding a cell phone. He said it was his but she didn't want to give it to him without checking first. At this point, she says he assaulted her.
Colell also said that at the time, her fellow coaches felt that the assault allegation would hurt his future in the Marine Corps, but she wishes she had reported it then. Colell is certain that Long was troubled long before his combat experience, and is adamant that the shooting is not related to PTSD.
"There are hundreds of thousands of people with PTSD. They don't go around shooting people," she told CBS.
In the aired interview, she is just as adamant: "It's not PTSD."