A Ventura County community is mourning the loss of a beloved 33-year-old man, co-owner of a popular restaurant, who was shot and killed outside a Reno, Nevada casino Monday in a mass shooting that left two others dead and three wounded.
The violence unfolded outside the Grand Sierra Resort, one of Reno’s most popular venues, at around 7:30 a.m.
Authorities said the gunman walked up to the casino-hotel’s valet parking area and pointed a handgun at a group of people. The firearm initially malfunctioned, but the shooter worked quickly to get it working, firing multiple rounds as he fled.
While fleeing, the suspect shot an armed security guard, shot and killed a person driving their vehicle in the parking lot and also fired on a Reno police officer, striking the patrol vehicle before multiple officers returned fire and struck the man and took him into custody.
The gunman, who has yet to be identified, was armed with multiple magazines, investigators said. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Andrew Canepa, co-owner of the Side Street Cafe in Newbury Park, was among the victims killed. The 33-year-old, who is the father of a 6-year-old boy, was remembered as a big reason the cafe is considered one of the most popular breakfast spots in the community.
“He would sit down with people at the booth, share with them and make them feel at home,” Canepa’s friend Rick Bucaria told KTLA. “Andrew was so warm and welcoming. He was always so happy.”
Outside the family-owned cafe, which was closed for the first time in months, friends and employees grieved the loss of a man they described as a dedicated community member.
“It’s because of the family tied to it, the love that comes from it,” Israel Rodriguez said. “Andrew was a big part of that. He probably greeted and waited on almost everybody in this city.”
After the 2018 mass shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, Canepa helped organize a fundraiser.
“The community was ripped apart,” Rodriguez told KTLA. “He was very active in helping victims. It’s a sad, tragic turn of events that he’s now a victim of that.”
A GoFundMe has been organized to help support Canepa’s son after the loss of his father.