A retired police officer tried to kill his wifewho had filed for divorce, at her bar California on Wednesday night, before he began shooting other patrons, killing three people and injuring six more.

59-year-old John Snowling, former police officerwas in the process of divorcing his wife Marie, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes explained during a press conference Thursday.

When she entered the Cook’s Corner bar, about an hour’s drive from Los Angeles, the attacker “immediately headed for her,” she added. “There was no discussion, dialogue or controversy, immediately her shot“, the sheriff emphasized.

THE woman survived and is hospitalized injured.

Snowling then fired and killed another woman who dined with Marie as did two men. He also injured six people, including his wife.

A former police officer in the city of Ventura, north of Los Angeles, Snowling retired in 2014 after 30 years on the force. His wife filed for divorce in December, according to authorities.

The assailant was killed by police gunfire in the area behind the bar, Sheriff Barnes said. Two of the injured remain in critical condition, authorities said.

“He couldn’t stand the divorce”Marie Snowling’s father said, referring to her husband.

“Horror”

The assailant drove from Ohio, in the northern US where he lived, to this bar outside Los Angeles, but police have not yet determined whether he was following his wife, the sheriff noted.

Betty Frusanti, a friend of Marie Snowling’s who was with her at the bar, told local television station NBC4 that her ex-husband “was targeting her, but he was shooting everywhere.” “He approached various tables and fired at people who were sitting in them,” he added.

“People fell to the ground and some stood on top of others trying to apply pressure to their injuries. It was just horrible, horrible,” Frussanti said.

According to her, Snowling was staying at a friend’s house at the time and her husband was struggling with the divorce.

“California mourns the victims of a horrific shooting that occurred yesterday (Wednesday) evening in Cook’s Corner,” state governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement.

“Two-thirds of the perpetrators of mass shootings in the US have a history of domestic violence,” he added, noting that under California law authorities can confiscate the guns of men deemed a threat to their wives.

“If you notice alarming signs, say something. By doing so you are saving lives,” Newsom urged.

At least 12,346 people have died from firearms in the US since the beginning of the year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. That number does not include the 15,576 suicides by firearms recorded so far this year.

Besides, in 2023 in the US there will be at least 465 incidents where four or more people have been killed by firearms, according to the same source.

The US is paying a heavy price for the proliferation of firearms and the ease with which Americans have access to them.

The country has more guns than residents: one in three adults owns at least one firearm, and nearly one in two lives in a household with at least one gun.