Suspect Identified in Mass Shooting at Gilroy Garlic Festival. Here's What We Know So Far

A food festival in Northern California descended into chaos and bloodshed Sunday evening as a shooter opened fire, killing three people and injuring more than a dozen others, police said.

At a press conference late Sunday, Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee told reporters that the gunman had also been shot and killed, bringing the total number of known fatalities to four. Another 15 people were injured, he said.

“This is one of those press conferences that you never want to give in your community, it’s [the] sort of a nightmare you hope you never have to live in reality,” Smithee said.

The shooter is believed to have cut through a fence to get into the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival, which was winding down when the shots were fired.

Here’s what we know so far about the situation unfolding in Northern California.

What happened?

The band was about to start playing its encore on the last day of the annual food festival when shots rang out, witnesses told Bay Area station KTVU.

Videos shared on social media show panic erupting as attendees fled for safety. Pops and screams could be heard in the background. Police said they received reports of a shooting at 5:41 p.m. at the north side of the festival being held at the outdoor Christmas Hill Park.

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

“It was quite shocking, and I’m fortunate to be alive,” Michael Paz, 72, a vendor at the festival said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “He came ready to shoot because he was wearing a protective vest,” Paz said. “He was shooting left; he was shooting right without any particular aim.”

“Everybody just ran, panicked,” festivalgoer Felton Amos, 60, told the Chronicle. “It sounded like more than one gun, like they were having a shootout.”

The San Francisco Bureau of Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives tweeted that they were responding to the shooting.

Who are the victims?

One of the dead was six-year-old Stephen Romero, according to local news reports. Romero’s grandmother told ABC7 that her grandson would be remembered as a “loving boy.”

Romero’s mother and other grandmother were reportedly also injured in the shooting and were being treated in the hospital.

Police Chief Smithee said at least 15 people were injured in total.

A spokeswoman for the Stanford Medical Center said the hospital is treating two patients, while the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center said it received five victims, the Associated Press reports. There were no further details on the patients’ conditions or injuries.

Who is the suspected gunman?

The gunman has been identified as Santino William Legan, who is believed to be 19 years old, according to the Associated Press, citing a law enforcement official.

Legan cut through a fence and reportedly began firing randomly at festival attendees, killing three people and injuring at least 15, Gilroy Police Chief Scott Smithee confirmed. According to Smithee, police responded immediately, shooting and killing Legan.

Police have not yet confirmed a motive. Witnesses reported that Legan appeared to be firing at random.

“I have no idea what the motive is at this point,” Smithee told reporters on Sunday.

Some witnesses reported seeing a second suspect and a manhunt is still ongoing. Smithee said police are unsure if the second person was armed or assisting Legan.

According to the AP, Legan began shooting during an encore performance by local band TinMan. Singer Jack van Breen told the AP the gunman was wearing a green shirt and grayish handkerchief around his neck.

Van Breen said he heard someone shout to Legan “Why are you doing this?” and Legan replied, “Because I’m really angry.”

On Monday morning police were seen raiding a two-story home in Gilroy where Legan reportedly lived with his family. The AP reports that police searched the house and a dusty car parked outside the home before leaving with “paper bags and what appeared to be other evidence.”

What is the Gilroy Garlic Festival?

The Gilroy Garlic Festival is an annual food fair held in Gilroy, Ca., a city of about 50,000 people nicknamed the garlic capital of the world. The festival website describes the event as “the world’s greatest summer food fair.” It has been running since 1979.