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Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting in California: What we know

At least three are dead, including a 6-year-old boy, and 12 others are wounded following the shooting at the popular Gilroy Garlic Festival.

A police officer photographs a car outside the family home of Gilroy Garlic Festival gunman Santino William Legan on Monday, July, 29, 2019, in Gilroy, Calif.
A police officer photographs a car outside the family home of Gilroy Garlic Festival gunman Santino William Legan on Monday, July, 29, 2019, in Gilroy, Calif.Read moreNoah Berger / AP

A man armed with an assault-type rifle opened fire at the annual garlic festival in Gilroy, Calif., Sunday evening, killing at least three people and wounding 12 others before police shot him dead. Here’s the latest of what we know.

  1. Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee identified the dead gunman as Santino William Legan, 19, who was originally from Gilroy and the grandson of a former Santa Clara County supervisor.

  2. Smithee said Legan was armed with an AK-47-type rifle he had legally purchased recently in Nevada. He was killed in a shootout with police.

  3. The three dead included a 6-year-old boy identified by family as Stephen Romero, a 13-year-old girl, and a man in his 20s. The conditions of the 12 wounded by gunfire, including the boy’s mother and grandmother, ranged from critical to fair. More than a dozen people also were treated for injuries suffered in the ensuing panic.

  4. The motive for the shooting remains unknown. Smithee said it appeared the gunman was shooting randomly.

  5. Police are investigating the possibility of a second suspect, after witnesses said a second man was involved. But Smithee said it was likely Legan was acting alone, although they were continuing to look into any possible leads about a second man.

  6. The shooting occurred about 5:40 p.m. local time (8:40 p.m. Philadelphia time) as the popular three-day food festival was wrapping up in the city of 57,000, about 80 miles southeast of San Francisco.

  1. Officials said the gunman apparently crossed a creek and cut a fence to evade security at the festival entrance. Witnesses described the gunman as wearing tactical gear and a vest.

  1. Jack van Breen, singer for the band TinMan, which was about to start an encore, said that after diving under the stage when the gunfire erupted he heard someone shout: “Why are you doing this?” and the reply: “Because I’m really angry.”

  2. Video posted on social media showed people shouting and running from one part of the festival grounds. What sounds like a single gunshot can be heard at one point.

  3. California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the shooting “nothing short of horrific.” President Donald Trump also called the shooting “horrific” and thanked law enforcement officers for their swift response. Democratic presidential candidates, including New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and former Vice President Joe Biden, called for action to respond to gun violence.