Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting: 3 victims killed by gunman identified, 2 of them children

GILROY, Calif. — California authorities are trying to determine why a gunman opened fire at the Gilroy Garlic Festival Sunday killing three people, including two children, and injuring 12 others.

Gilroy police said late Sunday that officers shot and killed the suspect, identified as Santino William Legan, 19. Officers are continuing to investigate reports that a second person might have been involved in the incident.

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Here are the latest updates:

Update 11:00 p.m. EDT July 29: It's too early in the investigation into the mass shooting at a California food festival to determine if the attack was targeted or indiscriminate, Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee said Monday, according to news reports.

"The descriptions that have been given to me, it appeared as though it (the shooting) was random. But I think we're too early in the investigation to say that definitively," Smithee said, according to The Associated Press.

Authorities served two search warrants Monday in connection with the shootings that left three people dead, including suspect Santino William Legan's car and a residence, the AP reported.

There's no word on whether investigators found anything significant during the searches.

Nevada law enforcement agents also searched an apartment north of Hawthorne that was connected to Legan, bt there's no word on what they were looking for or if they found anything.

Authorities are still trying to detemrine a motive in the attack.

The identities of the three people killed in the shooting Sunday were released Monday and included two children, 6-year-old Stephen Romero and 13-year-old Keyla Salazar, and recent college graduate Trevor Irby, 25.

Update 5:15 p.m. EDT July 29: The three victims killed in the shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festivial have now been identified, according to news reports.

Earlier reports Monday identified Stephen Romero, 6, as one of the victims. The other two have now been identified as Keyla Salazar, 13, and recent college graduate Trevor Irby, KNTV reported.

Irby, 25, a biology major, was a 2017 graduate of Keuka College in upstate New York, about 70 miles outside of Syrcuse, The Associated Press reported.

“Mass gun violence is an epidemic in the United States and yet one never thinks it can happen here in our wonderful community,” Gilroy Mayor Roland Velasco said during a news conference Monday, KPIX-TV reported.

He called it "beyond sad" that the popular charity festival was targeted.

"We intend to come out of this horrible event as a stronger and closer community," Velasco said.

In addition to the three people killed in the shooting, 12 more were injured and at least one remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Update 3:25 p.m. EDT July 29: Santa Clara County Health System spokeswoman Joy Alexiou told reporters Monday that three people who were taken to St. Louise Regional Hospital after the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting have since been discharged or were never admitted, according to CNN.

She said five other shooting victims taken Sunday to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center remained hospitalized. Earlier Monday, a spokeswoman with Stanford Medicine told CNN two victims remained hospitalized Monday at Stanford Hospital. Their conditions were not immediately known.

Update 2:55 p.m. EDT July 29: Ten people remained hospitalized Monday after they were injured in Sunday's shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival.

Santa Clara County Health System spokeswoman Joy Alexiou told reporters five shooting victims remained hospitalized Monday at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. One of the victims was listed in critical condition while two others were in serious condition, Alexiou said. Two other victims were in fair condition.

Alexiou said three people in serious to fair condition were also hospitalized Monday at St. Louise Reginal Hospital.

Julie Greicius, a spokeswoman with Stanford Medicine, told CNN two victims remained hospitalized Monday at Stanford Hospital. She declined to discuss the severity of the victims' injuries.

Update 1:25 p.m. EDT July 29: Gilroy police Chief Scot Smithee identified the three people killed in Sunday's shooting as a 6-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl and a man in his 20s.

Smithee did not identify the victims by name.

Authorities continue to investigate reports of a possible second person involved in the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting, although Smithee said they had no evidence to suggest a second shooter took part in the attack.

He confirmed officers identified the gunman as Santino William Legan, 19, and said he fired an "AK-47-type assault rifle" that had been legally purchased July 9 in Nevada.

"We don't have a motive for this shooting as yet," Smithee said.

Update 1:05 p.m. EDT July 29: Police in Gilroy are holding a news conference Monday to update the public on the investigation into the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting.

Update 12:30 p.m. EDT July 29: Joy Alexiou, spokeswoman for the Santa Clara County Health System, said seven people who were shot Sunday at the Gilroy Garlic Festival were between 12 and 69 years old.

The victims, who were not identified, were taken to the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center for treatment. One has since been discharged and another has been transferred to the Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto for treatment, Alexiou said.

One of the victims who remained at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center was listed in critical condition while two others were in serious condition, Alexiou said. Two other victims were in fair condition.

"You don’t want to see events like this ever, but as an emergency department and a trauma center we are well prepared to respond to these type of events and the most serious injuries," she told reporters Monday at a news conference.

Authorities continue to investigate.

Update 11:15 a.m. EDT July 29: An unidentified law enforcement official told The Associated Press the gunman suspected of shooting at a crowd gathered Sunday for the Gilroy Garlic Festival has been identified as Santino William Legan. He is believed to be 19 years old, the AP reported.

Police said they believe Legan got into Sunday's food festival by cutting through a fence. He was shot and killed as officers responded to reports of the shooting around 5:40 p.m.

Authorities continued Monday to investigate reports of a possible second shooter involved in the attack.

Update 10:25 a.m. EDT July 29: President Donald Trump shared condolences Monday for families affected by Sunday's mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival.

"We express our deepest sadness and sorrow for the families who lost a precious loved one in the horrific shooting last night in Gilroy, California," Trump told a crowd gathered to see him sign a bill extending the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. "While families were spending time together at a local festival, a wicked murderer opened fire and killed three innocent citizens, including a young child.

"We grieve for their families and we ask that God will comfort them with his overflowing mercy and grace."

Authorities said three people were killed and 12 others were injured when a gunman opened fire Sunday at the food festival. Officials have not shared details on the victims' injuries, though Trump said Monday that there were "some very, very serious injuries."

Authorities continue to investigate.

Update 9:45 a.m. EDT July 29: Authorities on Monday morning said 12 people were injured in Sunday's shooting, down from the 15 reported over the weekend.

Capt. Mitchell Matlow told CNN the injured included one person who took him or herself to a hospital for treatment.

It was not immediately clear how severe the injuries were.

Authorities continue to investigate.

Update 4:38 a.m. EDT July 29: A 6-year-old boy was one of the victims killed in a mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, family members said.

According to KRON-TV, the child, Stephen Romero, was at the event with his mother and grandmother when gunfire rang out Sunday evening.

Family members said Stephen's mother suffered gunshot wounds to her stomach and hand, but doctors expect her to recover, the station reported. The child's grandmother also was hurt, relatives said.

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Original report: Police units and emergency crews converged on the festival at Gilroy's Christmas Hill Park, which is located about 30 miles south of San Jose, after reports that a shooter had opened fire around 5:41 p.m. PT.

The Gilroy Police Department and the San Francisco division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to the scene, along with other law enforcement departments in the area.

Police believe that the shooter "cut through the fence to gain access to the festival," Gilroy police tweeted Sunday night.

The incident happened on the final day of the three-day festival.

President Donald Trump urged people to be "careful and safe."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the shooting "horrific."

Witnesses reported hearing rounds of gunfire and seeing some people on the ground, the Los Angeles Times reported. Several people said they saw a shooter carrying a rifle and wearing camouflage gear.

Festival goer Evenny Reyes, 13, told the San Jose Mercury News that she thought the sound of gunfire was fireworks, but then she saw someone with an injured leg.

"We were just leaving and we saw a guy with a bandana wrapped around his leg because he got shot," Reyes told the newspaper.

“There was a little kid hurt on the ground. People were throwing tables and cutting fences to get out,” she said.

The Gilroy Garlic Festival calls itself "the world's greatest summer food festival." The annual event was started in 1979 and features food, drink, cooking competitions and live entertainment.

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