LOS ANGELES - An autopsy found that the teenager who opened fire with an assault rifle at a weekend food festival in Northern California, killing three people, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, a coroner's spokesperson said Friday.
Police had originally said that the gunman, Santino William Legan, 19, was shot dead by police officers who were on patrol at Sunday's Gilroy Garlic Festival and confronted Legan when he began his rampage.
Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee has commended the three officers involved as heroes, saying the casualty toll would likely have been higher had they not confronted the gunman when they did, within seconds after the shooting started.
Three people were killed, including a 6-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl, and a dozen others were injured, some seriously.
The violence erupted near the end of an annual decades-old event celebrating produce farmed in the countryside of California's Santa Clara Valley, about 48 kilometers southeast of Silicon Valley.
Police said the gunman opened fire with an "AK47-variant" of an assault-style rifle, which he had purchased legally in Nevada. A shotgun also purchased in Nevada was later found in his car.
The autopsy of Legan showed that he died by shooting himself through the mouth, said Cindy Gallego, spokesperson for the Santa Clara County coroner's office. She declined to say whether medical examiners had found that Legan had sustained any wounds from rounds fired at him by police.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
GILROY, California - Police were searching on Monday for a suspected accomplice of the gunman who killed three people, including a 6-year-old boy, in a mass shooting at a food festival in California.
The gunman was shot dead by police officers within minutes of opening fire early on Sunday evening at the three-day Gilroy Garlic Festival, about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of the city of San Jose.
The gunman was identified as Santino William Legan, 19, according to CBS News and NBC News, both citing unnamed law enforcement officials. The Gilroy police department declined to confirm the reports but planned to hold a news briefing later on Monday morning.
Among those killed was a 6-year-old boy, according to news reports. Fifteen people were injured, but it was unclear how many were shot or otherwise hurt in the crush of bystanders trying to flee, according to police. One person was in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.
A second suspect "was involved in some way, we just don't know in what way," Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee said late on Sunday, without giving further details.
"We have no idea of a motive," he said.
Police recovered a rifle at the scene, Smithee said.
The gunman, who has not been publicly identified, cut through a fence to evade metal detectors and other security at the festival entrance, police said.
Footage uploaded to social media showed festival attendees scattering in fear and confusion as loud popping sounds could be heard in the background.
"What's going on?" a woman can be heard asking on one video. "Who'd shoot up a garlic festival?"
'THROWING TABLES' TO GET OUT
One of the victims was identified by his grandmother as Stephen Romero in an interview with ABC7 News. Maribel Romero described her 6-year-old grandson as "a really loving boy."
Her daughter-in-law and the boy's other grandmother were also being treated in a hospital for gunshot wounds, she said. "I want justice for my grandson," she said.
Evenny Reyes, 13, told the San Jose Mercury News that at first she thought the gunfire was fireworks but then saw someone with a wounded 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."
Maximo Rocha, a volunteer with the Gilroy Browns youth football team, said he saw many people on the ground, but could not be sure how many were shot.
He told NBC Bay Area that "quite a few" were injured, "because I helped a few."
One video posted on Twitter showed a blood-spattered woman sitting in the back of a semi-trailer and telling a man she had been shot in the hand.
Founded in 1979, the Gilroy Garlic Festival is an annual event run by volunteers and held outdoors at Christmas Hill Park.
Weapons of any kind are prohibited, according to the event's website, which also said anyone wearing clothing or paraphernalia indicating membership in a gang, including a motorcycle club, would be refused entry.
"I want to express my extreme shock and sadness about what's happened today," Gilroy Mayor Roland Velasco said at a late night news conference. "I would ask for the thoughts and prayers of the community as our Gilroy police officers continue to investigate this tragic and senseless crime."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
MANILA- "It just keeps on popping and popping."
What sounded like a firecracker at first turned out to be a fatal shooting at a food festival in California on Monday (Philippine time).
"It started out like, sounded like a firecracker and everybody backed out," Filipino-American Eric Regalado, who was at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, told ANC.
Regalado, who said he was around 2 tents away from the shooter, said he heard over 15 gunshots fired.
"That guy probably fired around more than 15 shots. It just keeps on popping and popping. It's like a random shootout," he said.
Regalado said he was in tears while the shootout was happening because he got separated from his sons.
All 3 went home safely but Regalado said his sons are "actually shaken" from the incident.
The Gilroy Police has reported multiple casualties from the shootout.
A local city councilman, Dion Bracco, told The New York Times three people were killed and 12 injured in the shooting on the last day of the Gilroy Garlic Festival, an annual three-day event south of San Jose. He did not know if the 12 injured included the three fatalities, the newspaper said.
One suspect was in custody, Bracco said.
"They don't know if there were more, so they have to treat it as an active situation," he told the newspaper. "We have police out here from as far away as San Jose."
NBC Bay Area had reported that ambulance crews were told 11 people were "down" after the shooting.
Local hospital officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Aerial footage showed the festival grounds apparently deserted but with many emergency and police vehicles on surrounding streets and police in bullet-proof gear.
"Be careful and safe!" U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter.
Footage uploaded to social media appeared to show festival attendees scattering in fear and confusion as loud popping sounds could be heard in the background.
"What's going on?" a woman can be heard asking on one video. "Who'd shoot up a garlic festival?"
California Governor Gavin Newsom said his office was monitoring the situation closely. "This is nothing short of horrific," Newsom wrote on Twitter.
Evenny Reyes, 13, told the San Jose Mercury News that at first she thought the gunfire was fireworks. But then she saw someone with a wounded 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."
Another witness, Maximo Rocha, a volunteer with the Gilroy Browns youth football team, said he saw many people on the ground, but could not be sure how many may have been shot and how many were trying to protect themselves.
He told NBC Bay Area that "quite a few" were injured, "because I helped a few."
One video posted on Twitter showed a blood-spattered woman sitting in the back of a semi-trailer and telling a man she had been shot in the hand.
Stage hand Shawn Viaggi told the Mercury News he heard gunshots and saw bullets hitting the ground. "I called out, 'It's a real gun, let's get out of here,' and we hid under the stage," Viaggi told the newspaper, adding that he saw police officers trying to resuscitate one man.
Founded in 1979, the Gilroy Garlic Festival features food, drink, live entertainment and cooking competitions. It says it is hosted by volunteers and describes itself as the world's greatest summer food festival.
It was being held at the outdoor Christmas Hill Park, where weapons of any kind are prohibited, according to the event's website.
To provide a safe, family-friendly atmosphere, it said, entry was refused to anyone wearing clothing or paraphernalia indicating membership in a gang, including a motorcycle club.
Festival officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. With a report by Reuters
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Four people have died at a California food festival shooting, including a suspected gunman, police chief Scott Smithee told a news conference late on Sunday.
Fifteen more were injured, including some who suffered gunshot wounds, although the number of those shot was not immediately clear.
"It's just incredibly sad and disheartening that at an event that does so much good the community had to suffer from a tragedy like this," said Smithee, chief of police in the city of Gilroy, near San Jose.
The gunman appeared to have cut through a fence to get into the annual Garlic Festival. He may have had one accomplice, Smithee added. (Reporting by Rich McKay and Sharon Bernstein; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
