Gilroy Mayor: Mass Shooting at Festival ‘Beyond Sad’

GILROY, Calif. — The Latest on a shooting at a food festival in Northern California (all times local):

3:37 p.m.

Vendors at California’s Gilroy Garlic Festival say a 10-year-old girl saved their bosses’ 3-year-old son from harm after a gunman shot at their tent, wounding the toddler’s parents.

Candice Marquez told The Associated Press on Monday that she was working the Honey Ladies stand with Cheryl Low when they stepped away to go to nearby portable restrooms.

When they left the restrooms, they heard what they said sounded like fireworks. They looked to their left and saw a shooter putting another clip into a gun and heading toward the Honey Ladies tent.

Marquez says she and Low ran in the other direction while the gunman continued.

While this was happening, Marquez says, her 10-year-old niece was still in the tent and helped their bosses’ 3-year-old son to safety under a table.

Marquez says her niece told her she looked the gunman right in the eye, but that he didn’t shoot.

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3:30 p.m.

Authorities in northern Nevada say they searched an apartment believed to have been used by the 19-year-old man responsible for the California garlic festival shooting that killed two children and a recent college graduate.

Mineral County District Attorney Sean Rowe confirmed the search by the FBI and local sheriff’s deputies of one of three homes in a modest stucco single-story building overlooking Walker Lake a few miles north of Hawthorne, Nevada.

Mineral County Sheriff Randy Adams called the investigation ongoing and declined in a statement to provide information about what was sought or found.

A spokeswoman for the FBI in Nevada declined to comment.

Another apartment in the triplex appeared to be vacant, and no one answered the door at the third.

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1:20 p.m.

A northern Nevada gun shop says the gunman in the California festival shooting purchased his rifle through the store’s online shop and appeared happy and presented “no reasons for concern” when he appeared in person.

Big Mike’s Guns and Ammo in Fallon posted on the shop’s Facebook page that “we are heartbroken this could ever happen,” and the business “would never sell any firearm to anyone who acted wrong or looks associated with any bad group like white power.”

The post’s author, who signed off as “Mike,” said he did not know the gunman, but “when I did see him, he was acting happy and show no reasons for concern.”

A law enforcement official said investigators believe the gunman used a WASR-10, which was purchased from Big Mikes Gun and Ammo in Nevada earlier this month. The official was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity

— Associated Press reporter Michael Balsamo in Washington

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1:10 p.m.

One of the three people killed in a shooting at California’s Gilroy Garlic Festival has been identified as a recent graduate of a college in upstate New York.

Keuka College President Amy Storey says in statement Monday that Trevor Irby, a biology major who graduated in 2017, was among the victims of the Sunday shooting.

Keuka College is about 70 miles (113 kilometers) southwest of Syracuse, New York.

The others killed were a 6-year-old boy, Stephen Romero, and a 13-year-old girl whose name has not been released.

Authorities say three police officers fatally shot the gunman.

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12:30 p.m.

The gunman in the California festival shooting appears to have posted two photos on Instagram that day, including one minutes before he opened fire.

Police say Santino William Legan killed three victims and wounded 12 others Sunday at the Gilroy Garlic Festival.

Legan’s since-deleted Instagram account says he is Italian and Iranian. It also shows a photo he posted earlier depicting Smokey the Bear in front of a “fire danger” sign. In the caption, Legan said to read “Might is Right,” a book published in the 1800s.

The misogynist and anti-Semitic work is used by neo-Nazis and white supremacists on extremist sites.

Minutes before the shooting, he posted a photo from the festival: “Ayyy garlic festival time” and “come get wasted on overpriced (stuff).”

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10:44 a.m.

The mayor of the California city where a gunman killed three at an annual food festival says the community will mourn the tragedy but will get through it.

Gilroy Mayor Roland Velasco told a press conference Monday that gun violence is an epidemic in the United States and it’s “beyond sad” that a charitable event such as the Gilroy Garlic Festival was targeted.

The gunman opened fire Sunday as the festival was in its closing hours, sending the crowd scattering.

Three police officers immediately engaged and killed the gunman, who was armed with an assault-type rifle.

The mayor commended the officers’ “remarkable bravery” in running toward the shooter and says they undoubtedly saved many lives by putting their own lives in danger.

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10:25 a.m.

Authorities say the shooter who attacked a California food festival used an assault-type rifle and opened fire on three local police officers who immediately responded.

Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee says even though the handgun-equipped officers were outgunned, the officers were able quickly fatally shoot the gunman.

The shooting occurred on the closing day of the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival.

The gunman killed a 6-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl and a man in his 20s. There’s no immediate word on the other 15 people who were either wounded or suffered injuries such as scrapes and bruises.

Smithee says the motive remains unknown. Police are still investigating whether there is a second suspect.

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8:50 a.m.

A woman who lives across the street from the family of a man who opened fire at California food festival says SWAT officers came to the home.

Jan Dickson says the officers ordered those inside to come out with their hands up Sunday night and one person did. She says the parents had four boys: one who’s a boxer and another who’s a runner.

Dickson said Monday that they were “a nice, normal family.” She says Santino William Legan hadn’t lived there for at least a year.

A law enforcement official who wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity said Legan opened fire at the Gilroy Garlic Festival on Sunday.

The shooting killed three people, including a 6-year-old boy, and injured about 15 before police killed the gunman.

— Associated Press reporters Kathleen Ronayne in Gilroy and Michael Balsamo in Washington

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7:30 a.m.

President Donald Trump is condemning the “wicked murderer” who opened fire at a California garlic festival, killing three and wounding at least 15 others.

Trump spoke Monday before an event at the White House to sign a bill ensuring that a victims’ compensation fund related to the Sept. 11 attacks never runs out of money.

The president said that the nation would “grieve” for the victims’ families and “ask that God comfort them.”

Trump, who has steadfastly opposed ambitious gun control measures, said the nation would “answer violence with the courage of our national resolve.”

Police said the gunman appeared to randomly target people when he opened fire just after 5:30 p.m. Sunday at the large festival in Gilroy.

Among those killed was a 6-year-old boy.

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7:25 a.m.

A law enforcement official says the gunman in the California festival shooting has been identified as Santino William Legan.

The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday morning.

The shooter was killed after opening fire on the Gilroy Garlic Festival on Sunday. Three victims were killed and at least 15 others injured.

Authorities say he used a rifle and gained entry to the packed festival by cutting through a fence to avoid security measures, including metal detectors.

— Associated Press reporter Michael Balsamo in Washington

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5 a.m.

A 6-year-old boy was one of the three people killed when a gunman opened fire at a Northern California garlic festival.

Alberto Romero told NBC Bay Area that his son Stephen was killed.

“My son had his whole life to live and he was only 6,” his father Alberto Romero told NBC Bay Area. “That’s all I can say.”

Authorities say three people were killed and at least 15 others injured in the shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival.

The shooter also was killed. Authorities say he used a rifle and gained entry to the packed festival by cutting through a fence to avoid security measures, including metal detectors.

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12:30 a.m.

Edward and Jane Jacobucci said they were standing at their booth selling garlic graters when the shooting started Sunday afternoon at the Gilroy Garlic Festival.

Edward Jacobucci said the shooting was “absolute chaos.” ”It happened right in front of our booth,” he said.

Jane Jacobucci described the shooter as a tall, thin young man in camouflage with a big gun.

She said her husband threw her to the ground when the shooting started.

Three people were killed and at least 15 others injured in the shooting. Also dead is the shooter, who used a rifle and gained entry to the packed festival by cutting through a fence to avoid the tight security, including metal detectors, police said.

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11:45 p.m.

The wounded from a shooting at a food festival in Northern California were taken to multiple hospitals and their conditions ranged from fair to critical.

Several of the victims from the shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival were in surgery Sunday night. At least five had been treated and released, said officials from the hospitals.

Earlier Sunday, Stanford Medical Center reported having two patients from the shooting. Spokeswoman Julie Greicius said she had no details on their injuries or conditions. Santa Clara Valley Medical Center received five victims, spokeswoman Joy Alexiou said. She also had no information on their conditions.

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10:40 p.m.

Police say a suspect cut through a fence to gain access to a California festival before opening fire with a rifle and killing three people.

Police Chief Scot Smithee says attendees at Sunday’s garlic festival in Gilroy, California, had to go through security checkpoints with metal detectors.

Smithee says police are looking for a possible second suspect, who may have accompanied the gunman. He says a search is underway to find that person.

Smithee says investigators believe the gunman used “some sort of tool” to cut through a fence and gain access to the secure festival area.

The shooting occurred during the annual three-day celebration featuring food, cooking competitions and music that attracts more than 100,000 people.

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10:25 p.m.

Police say a suspect has been killed after opening fire, killing three others, at a food festival in California.

Police Chief Scot Smithee says Sunday that witnesses reported a second suspect, but it was unclear whether that person opened fire.

Smithee says the suspects had used a tool to cut through a fence and access the annual garlic festival in Gilroy, California.

He says one of the suspects opened fire and police and officers in the area confronted the suspect in less than a minute. He says that suspect was shot and killed.

“He had some sort of a rifle”

Mayor Roland Velasco asked for the public’s support of the investigation. “I would ask for the thoughts and prayers of the community as our Gilroy police officers continue to investigate this tragic and senseless crime,” he said.

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9:25 p.m.

The band Tin Man was just starting an encore when shots rang out at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Northern California.

Singer Jack van Breen said he saw a man wearing a green shirt and grayish handkerchief around his neck fire into the food area with what looked like an assault rifle.

Van Breen and other members of the band dove under the stage. Van Breen says he heard someone shout: “Why are you doing this?” and the reply: “Because I’m really angry. “

His bandmate Vlad Malinovsky from Walnut Creek, California, said he heard a lot of shots and then it stopped. Later, law enforcement came by and told the band members and others hiding with them to come out with their hands up.

A city official says the gunman killed three and wounded 12 in the late Sunday afternoon shooting.

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8:50 p.m.

A city councilman says three people have been killed and 12 others are injured after a shooting at a festival in Gilroy, California.

Councilman Dion Bracco tells The Associated Press those are preliminary figures following Sunday’s shooting.

Witnesses reported confusion and panic as shots rang out at the festival in the city of 50,000 located about 80 miles (176 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco.

The shooting occurred during the annual garlic festival, a three-day celebration featuring food, cooking competitions and music that attracts more than 100,000 people.

Sunday was the final day of this year’s event.

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8:30 p.m.

A spokeswoman for Stanford Medical Center says they have two patients there being treated from a shooting Sunday at an annual food festival in Northern California. Julie Greicius says she has no details on their injuries or conditions.

Earlier Sunday, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center spokeswoman Joy Alexiou said the hospital has received two victims from the shooting and expects three more. She also had no information on their conditions.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump sent a tweet saying: “Law Enforcement is at the scene of shootings in Gilroy, California. Reports are that shooter has not yet been apprehended. Be careful and safe!”

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7:45 p.m.

Witnesses to the shooting Sunday at an annual food festival in Northern California described the confusion and panic at the scene, the Mercury News reported.

Evenny Reyes of Gilroy, 13, told the newspaper that spent the day at the Gilroy Garlic Festival with her friends and relatives.

“We were just leaving and we saw a guy with a bandanna wrapped around his leg because he got shot. And there were people on the ground, crying,” Reyes said. “There was a little kid hurt on the ground. People were throwing tables and cutting fences to get out.”

Reyes told the Mercury News that she didn’t run at first because the gunshots sounded like fireworks. “It started going for five minutes, maybe three. It was like the movies — everyone was crying, people were screaming.”

Todd Jones, a sound engineer, told the newspaper that he was at the front of the festival’s Vineyard stage when he heard what sounded like a firework. “But then it started to increase, more rapidly, which sounded more like gunfire, and at that point people realized what was happening,” Jones said.

At least five people were hospitalized Sunday at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, a hospital spokeswoman says.

Santa Clara Valley Medical Center spokeswoman Joy Alexiou says the hospital has received two victims from the shooting and expects three more. She had no information on their conditions.

Video first posted on social media sites about an hour ago showed people running for safety at the festival,

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7:35 p.m.

Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are responding to the scene of a shooting at an annual food festival in northern California.

At least five people were hospitalized Sunday after the shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, a hospital spokeswoman says.

Santa Clara Valley Medical Center spokeswoman Joy Alexiou says the hospital has received two victims from the shooting and expects three more. She had no information on their conditions.

Video first posted on social media sites about an hour ago showed people running for safety at the festival,

The Gilroy Police Department on its Twitter account issued a statement saying: “The hearts of Gilroy PD and entire community go out to the victims of today’s shooting at the Garlic Festival. The scene is still active. If you are looking for a loved one, please go to the reunification center at Gavilan College at parking lot B.”

The festival is a nationally known three-day event that attracts thousands of garlic lovers. Sunday was the final day of the festival.

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7:25 p.m.

At least five people were injured Sunday after a shooting an annual food festival in Northern California, a hospital spokeswoman says.

Santa Clara Valley Medical Center spokeswoman Joy Alexiou says the hospital has received two victims from the shooting and expects three more. She had no information on their conditions.

Video first posted on social media sites about an hour ago showed people running for safety at the festival,

The Gilroy Garlic Festival is a nationally known three-day event that attracts thousands of garlic lovers. Sunday was the final day of the festival.

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7:05 p.m.

There are reports of a shooting at the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival in California.

The San Francisco Chronicle did not know how many people were involved in the shooting Sunday.

Video on social media sites showed people running for safety at the festival,

The festival is a nationally known three-day event that attracts thousands of garlic lovers. Sunday was the final day of the festival.