After Thousand Oaks mass shooting claims at least 12 victims, relatives search for loved ones whose voices have gone silent

Jason Coffman woke up about 1 a.m. to banging on his door. He thought it was the police.

It was his 22-year-old son’s friends, who told him about the shooting at Borderline.

They all were able to get out, but they hadn’t heard from Cody. He’d gone to the bar to get a round of drinks for everyone when gunfire erupted and chaos ensued.

“He didn’t come out,” Coffman, 41, of Camarillo said. “They are assuming the worst.”

Coffman said his son, who was about to join the Army, hasn’t answered his phone.

By 3:40 a.m., he arrived at the Thousand Oaks Teen Center to search for him and report him missing.

He emerged about 15 minutes later. Authorities inside took down his information and told him to wait for word.

His next stop, he said, was the hospital.

Early Thursday morning, Los Robles Regional Medical Center was quiet.

A sheriff’s department crime scene investigations van pulled up to the hospital just before 3 a.m. An hour later, a law enforcement official in an honor guard uniform was seen leaving.

Adam Housley, who until six weeks ago was national correspondent for Fox News, arrived at the hospital around 3:30 a.m. searching for his niece. A guard didn’t let him through, saying it was on lockdown.

He said his niece, 18-year-old Pepperdine freshman Alaina Housley, had been at the bar with several friends. Her Apple Watch and iPhone still showed her location on the dance floor.

“My gut is saying she’s inside the bar, dead,” he said. “I’m hoping I’m wrong.”

Housley said two of Alaina’s suitemates jumped through a broken window to escape and are at a hospital with major wounds from the glass. As they ran away from the bar, someone screamed “Hey! Get ... down on the ground!” They told Housley they believe it was the gunman.

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Instead, they kept running toward houses near the Los Robles Greens golf course, where they got help.

Alaina’s friends told Housley that they’d lost her in the chaos.

“She’s an amazing girl,” he said. “I know you always hear those things.”

Housley said he comes from a small, tight-knit family. But he’s been on the scene during mass shootings before as a reporter.

“You just don’t think that — same stupid quote — you just don’t think it’s going to happen to you,” he said.

Housley said he went to the crime scene and called the hotline. They didn’t tell him much.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AleneTchek