Page 5 - Sergeant Helus News Today

Great man. >> laura: how is his family doing tonight? i know -- at the heart ache will never go away, really. any word on his family? >> no, they are still dealing with it. as tough as you can imagine it is. >> laura: tell us what you know about what happened in this bar, a former marine combat officer or enlistee, i guess, goes in there, really fun college night, great hang out for some of the pepperdine students and others to turn into a bloodbath, what do we know? >> we receive phone calls, 9...

>> certainly you dont want to walk in directly into fire, you want to somewhat flank any entry, if you can. we can just only imagine, a bar usually has a rear exit through the kitchen or the back of the restaurant or the back of the bar, and had a front entrance. that is where the direction of the fire was coming from, and unfortunately, because of all of the school shootings, the only tactic that you can actually use if you are a first responder is you have to go to the shooting to try to stop ...

Was shot and killed. he is being hailed as a hero for saving lives last night. >> sergeant helus was on the force for 29 years, looking to retire in the next year or so, he died a hero, he went in to save lives. to save other people. >> laura: joining me now is a man who knows sergeant helus while, who worked with officer helus. the sheriffs department is grieving tonight, and we are -- i feel like we do this way too often, but we are so sorry for your loss. what an amazing man, and you are such...

Of the victims. as they were rendering aid, they heard sergeant helus -- heard shop fires, so he grabbed one of the officers, and they entered the borderline, and when they entered, sergeant helus was struck multiple times. the officer grabbed a sergeant and pulled him out to a safer location, and later he was transferred to row slow brace medical center, and succumbed to his injuries. >> laura: another active -- >> a really tough time for all of us here. >> laura: senseless violence. a man repo...

Actually congregated and actually were celebrating life, and im sure it was well known who they wear. if they there that night. of the shooting. and i kind of wonder if this was not possibly something to do with the motive for the suspect. >> laura: it is being reported on now, we are learning may be information about some of the victims, one in particular who survived, obviously las vegas, succumbed to injuries last night. mark, when i hear about the sergeant, he was the first one to go in with...

And then he shot the cashier. just a young girl. >> the subject was at the front shooting at everybody. think hes still inside the bar. >> reporter: witnesses say the bar quickly filled with smoke. >> the gunman was throwing smoke grenades. >> we got multiple people down. we need a lot of ambulances. >> reporter: amid the chaos, the voice of a young man calling home. >> mom, dad, this is max. theres been a shooting at borderline. please wake up. >> reporter: the gunman keeps firing. >> i was on ...

That was the last thing i said. >> reporter: today, he had one last message for his son. >> i just want him to know that he -- he is going to be missed. >> no shortage of heartbreak in this community tonight. and there was another moment here today, when the sheriff, who was set to retire tomorrow, was asked if that sheriffs sergeant, ron helus, had survived. he broke down as he delivered the news. heres the moment, and then i spoke with the sheriff just a short time ago. it was a powerful and h...

>> sergeant helus died at the -- the sergeant passed away at the hospital about an hour ago.>> orep r geoff dean with us. we watched you this morning talk about your friend, sergeant helus. an impossible day for you, as you try to protect a community, but also react to the loss of your friend. what can you tell us about sergeant helus? >> 29-year veteran of the sheriffs office, a father, a husband. really, really cared about his people. trained them really hard so they would always be safe. had ...

Of a mass shooting in a bar in thousand oaks, california. he was on the phone with his wife when he got the call. he told her, hon, i got to go. i love you. i got to go on a call. sergeant ron helus went through the front door of the bar, accompanied by a california highway patrol officer. sheriff dean said they immediately exchanged gunfire, with the suspect, and thats when sergeant helus was shot several times. >> he was totally committed. he gave his all. and tonight, as i told his wife, he d...

This morning, codys father was officially notified that cody did not make it out of the bar alive. >> my first-born son, only him and i know how much i love -- how much i miss -- oh, god, this is so -- oh, son, i love you so much. oh, heavily father, just please. >> some of the witnesses who survived the shooting say that they are sure that they -- there would have been more dead if sergeant ron helus did not rush in and exchange fire with the killer. sheriff sergeant eric buschow said, he loved...