• The American Red Cross says blood that is already on the shelves helps during emergencies like this one. Still, the need for blood is constant. Those who wish to give blood can visit www.redcrossblood.org to learn more.

• Interested donors can also visit vitalant.org or call (877) 25-VITAL (84825).

• The Rotary Club of Westlake Village, a certified charity on GoFundMe, is accepting donations to support victims.

Luke Billings raised his right hand to his temple, his body rigid as he braced himself for the wave of emotions that hit him Thursday morning as a hearse carrying Ventura County sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Helus was set to pull into the Ventura County medical examiner’s office.

A private detective, Billings, 47, said he has many friends in law enforcement and knows the dangers they encounter every day. 

“He was a hero,” Billings said of Helus.

The Thousand Oaks shooting is the eighth mass shooting in the U.S. this year in which four or more victims died, according to data compiled by Mother Jones magazine.

California, the most populous state, also has had more mass shooting fatalities than any other since 1982.

The shooting Wednesday night at the Borderline Bar and Grill left 12 people dead, not including the gunman, and 18 injured.

A former roommate of the man suspected of entering a crowded nightclub Wednesday night and killing a Ventura County Sheriff’s Sergeant and at least 12 others before killing himself described the gunman as quiet and reclusive.

Blake Winnett said he lived with Ian Long, 28, for about two years after they met in 2013. The two were roommates in Simi Valley first and then in Reseda while Long studied at Cal State Northridge.

“He wasn’t outgoing or talkative,” Winnett, a set builder, said. “He kept to himself, always had his earbuds in. He went to the gym, went to class, or rode his motorcycle."

In a statement posted to the school’s emergency information website, Pepperdine University confirmed that 16 students were at the Borderline Bar & Grill during the mass shooting Wednesday night that left a Ventura County Sheriff’s Sergeant and at least 11 others dead.

Two students were treated and released from a hospital and one student “remains unaccounted for,” according to information posted online.

“We continue to pray for the victims and their families, and all of us at Pepperdine are committed to assisting our community through this tragedy in every way possible,” according to the statement.

The last thing Jason Coffman told his son was that he loved him.

Coffman on Thursday morning identified Cody Coffman, 22, as a victim of the shooting the night before at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks.

“I cannot believe that it’s happened in my family,” the tearful father told a crowd of reporters. “I don't know how to console or what to say to the other people who are going to go through the same thing as I am. I am so sorry for them. I am speechless and heartbroken.”

The United States is, by a long shot, the global leader in mass shootings, claiming just 5% of the global population but an outsized share -- 31% -- of the world's mass shooters since 1966, a new study finds.