'This Is Going To Be Absolutely Heart-wrenching': The Thousand Oaks Shooting Victims

The Borderline Bar & Grill could be counted on for a good time.

On some of the more popular nights at the country music dance hall, the crowd inside could be counted on to be in the hundreds. They could be counted on to be wearing plaid, boots, cowboy hats, and if they were women, short shorts. What could not be counted on would be a gunman, armed with a Glock 21 .45-caliber handgun, to begin indiscriminately firing into those throngs of happy people.

But on Wednesday night, a night specifically designed to lure young, college age patrons into the venue, that is the horrifying scene that unfolded at the bar in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

By the end of the violent spree, 11 people were dead.

Sgt. Ron Helus, among the first law enforcement officers to respond, died at a hospital hours later from injuries sustained in a confrontation with the shooter.

Authorities have not released many of the victims' names but among those who have been confirmed are three men and one woman. Their ages range from 18 to 33 — a reflection of the crowd drawn to the "College Country Night" at the bar.

Here are some of their stories. This is a developing story and will be updated as we learn more.

Alaina Housley, 18, had recently started her freshman year at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.

For hours after the attack and into the early morning hours of Thursday, Housley's family was desperately seeking information about her.

Housley is the niece of actress Tamera Mowry-Housley and her husband Adam Housley, a former Fox News reporter.

Shortly after the shooting, Adam Housley said the teen's "Apple Watch and iPhone still showed her location on the dance floor," the LA Times reported over Twitter.

Hours later the couple confirmed the young woman's death in statement, writing, "Our hearts are broken."

"Alaina was an incredible young woman with so much life ahead of her and we are devastated that her life was cut short in this manner," the couple added.

Housley's Facebook page says she is from Napa, Calif., and photos on the site include several pictures of her surrounded by a group of friends at what appears to be her graduation from Vintage High School.

"We offer our deepest condolences to the Housley family and ask that our community join us in keeping Alaina's family, friends, and loved ones in their prayers during this incredibly difficult time," Pepperdine University added in a statement.

Cody Coffman, 22, was the oldest son of Jason Coffman, who confirmed his death amid sobs in an interview with reporters.

"This is going to be absolutely heart-wrenching time for me and my family," his father said, adding that Cody's younger brothers and soon-to-be born sister, would miss him terribly.

He recalled their last conversation as the younger man was leaving for Borderline: "I talked to him last night before he headed out the door. The first thing I said was, 'Please don't drink and drive.' The last thing I said was, 'Son, I love you.' "

Jason Coffman said his son had recently moved in with him, and that Cody had been meeting with recruiters and planned to enlist in the Army, The Sun reported.

He worked at a Camarillo moving company called Attention to Detail.

On Facebook on Thursday, someone from the company had posted a few lines about Cody Coffman. The tribute described him as an "encouraging soul, always smiling and so happy all the time."

"Cody had such a bright future ahead of him," it reads. "He was just weeks away from joining the Army. We know Cody's heart and he sacrificed his own life, to protect the ones around him."

Justin Meek, 23, had recently graduated from Thousand Oaks' California Lutheran University, school officials confirmed in a statement on Thursday.

He died trying to save others, a family member told The San Diego Union-Tribune.

"According to numerous witness accounts, Justin died a HERO saving many lives with no regard for his own life," Meek's mother Laura Meek wrote on Facebook, according to the newspaper.

Meek, who is a promoter of the college country night at the Borderline Bar & Grill, was at the dance hall with his younger sister. Both were working when the shooter began firing on patrons, Laura Meek said.

One of the most recent photos on Meek's Facebook page shows him at the center of a large group wearing denim overalls, pointy boots and a cut-off sleeved plaid shirt. The photo, dated Sept. 8, appears to have been taken inside the bar.

His profile on the social media site says he worked as a performer, a bouncer and a caregiver. He is originally from Coronado, Calif.

Asante Sefa-Boakye, a longtime friend, referred to Meek as a "teddy bear" who loved country music.

"Ask anyone on the (Coronado) island who knows this kid and they'll say nothing short of how great a guy he is," Sefa-Boakye said. "There's a lot of heartbreak here over the loss of such a warm spirit."

He added, "There's frustration too because he fell victim to the same tragedy that this country has been going through over and over again with no apparent attempt to fix the problem."

Daniel Manrique was a native of Thousand Oaks and had served in Afghanistan with the Marine Corps, Task and Purpose reported.

Jacklyn Pieper, a colleague and childhood friend of Manrique's, said that he arrived at the local bar ahead of his friends and entered just "as all hell broke loose."

The 33-year-old served with 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, deploying to Afghanistan in 2007 with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, according to the outlet.

"His whole plan was to see the world and get leadership experience, and he was able to do that in those four years [in the Corps]," Pieper told Task & Purpose.

He became an active member of the veterans community in Los Angeles upon his return. After leaving the service, he worked for an LA non-profit that helped provide financial-planning assistance for veterans with mental health diagnoses.

"He talked a lot about the isolation that veterans feel when they return home without continuity or consistency, and he just wanted to extend his [arms] around whoever else felt that," she said.

"His life was about going above and beyond," she said. "His whole life was based around helping others. ... Everything he did was selfless," Pieper told Task & Purpose.

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