Al Seib/AFP/Getty
Sheriff’s Sergeant Ron Helus, a man hailed as a hero for running straight into the Nov 8. shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill to take down gunman Ian Long, was in fact killed by friendly fire in the chaos of the massacre, according to Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub. Helus was reportedly shot six times, including one round of friendly fire that struck him in a vital organ and killed him, Ayub said during a Friday press conference. The other shots came from the gunman, who was later identified as 28-year-old Ian Long. Long also died that night of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound, along with 11 other innocent victims. “Ron was a hardworking, dedicated sheriff’s sergeant. He was totally committed, he gave his all and tonight, as I told his wife, he died a hero; he went into save lives, to save other people,” former sheriff Geoff Dean said in the aftermath of the shooting. “There’s just no way to describe this. It saddens us all and it tears at our hearts.”