Ian Long’s High School Coach Claims He Was ‘Mentally Disturbed’ Before Mass Shooting
Nov. 9 2018, Published 11:29 a.m. ET
Two days after veteran Ian Long opened fire inside a Southern California country bar and killed 12 innocent people, the man’s high school track coach is speaking out about his violent past.
Talking to CBSLA, Dominique Colell admitted she was heartbroken when she heard about the senseless massacre, and shocked when she realized who the shooter was.
“I turned on the news and I was watching it and when they said his name my jaw just dropped,” she said.
She added that despite the fact that Long, 29, graduated from Newbury Park High School years ago, she never forgot him because of a bizarre encounter the two once had.
“He attacked me. He attacked his high school track coach,” said Colell. “Who does that?”
The violent incident reportedly took place during Long’s senior year, but despite her bewilderment over the matter, Colell never reported him.
Colell claimed Long started screaming at her during class, before suddenly getting physical. “He just started grabbing me,” she said. “He groped my stomach. He groped my butt. I pushed him off me and said after that — ‘you’re off the team.’”
Long then went off to become a Marine, and years later, a killer.
“I should have reported it then,” said Colell, admitting that she felt a sense of guilt after hearing the news of the massacre.
RadarOnline.com readers know Long had various run-ins with the law before the deadly shooting. On April 4, police were called to his home for a disturbance, only to find him looking “quite distressed.” Plus, just weeks before his murder spree, he got into a heated fight at a different bar in the area.
While sources have told reporters that the now-deceased killer suffered from extreme PTSD, his high school coach thinks otherwise. “There are hundreds of thousands of people with PTSD,” said Colell. “They don’t go around shooting people. This kid was mentally disturbed in high school. There were signs and the administration knew it.”
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