Account of Shooting: IV Deli Mart Owner Michael Hassan

I.V. Deli Mart owner Michael Hassan gives the Nexus a breakdown of what happened last night inside his store, where one person was shot dead as part of a shooting spree throughout I.V. that left 7 dead.

Hassan said he was not working the night of the incident, but around 9:30 p.m., he received a call from his manager saying shots were fired through the Pardall Road store.

“He told me there was a drive-by shooting. So we got two hits through the glass and one person was dead,” Hassan said.

After fatally wounding the victim inside the store, the suspect — firing from a black vehicle in the street — continued to fire more rounds of gunfire, Hassan said.

“They heard two shots and everybody went down,” he said. “He shot several times after those two — probably around four or five more — and of course we called 9-11 right away and it went from there.”

As Isla Vista is left broken by the incident, Hassan said he cannot believe what took place in I.V. last night.

“It’s shocking. This is like what you see in the movies, and that’s the last thing I expect to see in I.V. or in Santa Barbara, in general – to see drive-by shootings,” Hassan said. “There is no way you would ever think that is going to happen.”

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