One of the 12 victims in Wednesday night’s bar shooting in California was a Marine Corps veteran.
Daniel Manrique, who was formerly a radio operator with the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, was identified as one of the shooting victims at Borderline Bar & Grill on Nov. 7, according to a statement by Team Red, White & Blue (RWB), a veterans outreach organization that Manrique was a part of.
Manrique and 11 other victims were killed when Ian David Long, a 28-year-old Marine Corp veteran from Newbury Park, opened fire in a crowded bar, killing 12 before turning the gun on himself.
Manrique, 33, was also the Pacific Regional Program Manager for Team RWB, which is a nonprofit designed to connect and support the veteran community through physical and social events. He also served as Captain of the Ventura County Chapter of Team RWB.
We are heartbroken to confirm that Dan Manrique, Pacific Regional PM and Marine Corps veteran, was one of the victims of the Borderline shooting. We are aware that other members of our Team RWB family were directly impacted by the events. We will provide updates as we learn more. pic.twitter.com/lXVQWVx6NV
— Team RWB (@TeamRWB) November 8, 2018
“Dan’s life was dedicated to serving others, during his military career and beyond,” said John Pinter, Executive Director of Team RWB. “We offer our deepest condolences to the Manrique family and ask that our Eagles around the world join us in keeping all those impacted by this tragedy in your thoughts and prayers.”
Manrique had one deployment to the Middle East with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit in 2007.
He was a native of Thousand Oaks, the town where the shooting took place.
Jacklyn Pieper, a colleague and longtime friend of Manrique’s, told Task & Purpose that he had just entered the Borderline Bar & Grill to meet with friends “just as all hell broke loose.”
“His whole plan was to see the world and get leadership experience, and he was able to do that in those four years [in the Corps],” Pieper told Task & Purpose. “Everything he did was selfless.”
Manrique had a longtime dedication to serving others.
He volunteered with his church to help special needs children. He began his efforts at Team RWB as a volunteer, and just accepted the full-time Regional Program Manager position a few months ago.
UPDATE: Dan Manrique, 33, a @USMC veteran, has been identified as one of the 12 victims of Wednesday’s shooting in Calif. He was a program manager for Team Red, White & Blue, a group that helps veterans adjust to civilian life. https://t.co/eyOiJqzKYS
— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) November 9, 2018
Previously, he worked with another veteran-focused nonprofit in Los Angeles, where he helped veterans diagnosed with mental health conditions in their financial planning.
“He was all about giving back to the veterans community and creating that community,” Pieper told Task & Purpose. “He talked a lot about the isolation that veterans feel when they return home without continuity or consistency, and he just wanted to extend his armed around whoever else felt that.”
“His life was about going above and beyond,” she added. “His whole life was based around helping others.”
