Ventura County sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Helus, one of the first officers to respond to a call of a shooting at a bar in Thousand Oaks, California, was among the 12 victims killed in the incident.
Helus, a 29-year law enforcement veteran, was shot multiple times upon entering the Borderline Bar & Grill with a California Highway Patrol officer late Wednesday. He later died at a hospital, Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean told reporters Thursday.
Dean, who counted Helus as a friend, grew emotional while describing the officer’s last moments.
“He was totally committed,” Dean said, noting that Helus was looking to retire in the next year. “He gave his all. Tonight, as I told his wife, he died a hero. He went in to save lives, to save other people.”
Helus, 54, is survived by a son and his wife, whom he called before responding to the shooting, the Los Angeles Times reports.
“He said, ‘Hun, I got to go. I love you. I gotta go on a call,’” Dean told the Times.
The gunman, who killed 12 and injured 11 in the shooting, is also dead.
