Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting: What we know about the motive, weapon, victims and gunman

GILROY, Calif. - An annual family-friendly event featuring food and music turned deadly on Sunday during the final day of the Gilroy Garlic Festival, when a 19-year-old gunman cut a hole in the fence of the outdoor arena with a rifle and killed three people and injured another 12.

Three officers were already on scene and killed Santino William Legan within one minute, Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee said at a Monday news conference. 

Here’s a breakdown of what we know:

The victims: Smithee said those killed include a 6-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl and a man in his 20s. He did not identify any by name, saying he wanted to wait for the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner to do that. Family identified the boy as Stephen Romero, and San Jose City Councilwoman Maya Esparza said the little boy was her cousin. Other Romero relatives were injured as well. Bob Mann, owner of South County Hundai of Gilroy, set up a GoFundMe account for the boy's family. 

"Any loss of life is a tragedy," Smithee said, but when it includes “young people it’s even worse.” 

Twelve others were injured -- the youngest is 12 and the oldest is 69.

Santa Clara Valley Medical Center spokeswoman Joy Alexiou said the hospital has five patients: one is in critical condition, one is in serious condition and one is in fair condition. The two remaining patients asked their conditions not be released to the public. A family member of 12-year-old Lesley Andres told KTVU that her sister was shot in the leg. 

According to witness Candace Marquez, her boss at Honey Ladies was shot in the calf and her boss’s husband was shot three times. It's unclear if they are patients at VMC. A representative from the company didn't immediately respond for comment.

The gunman: Gilroy police identified the gunman as Santino William Legan, 19, of Gilroy. According to a records search, Legan has no criminal history in Santa Clara County. ATF agents were searching his home on Monday, which is located about a mile from the police department. Dispatchers described him wearing camouflage and emerging from a creek just before the shooting. Witnesses said he was wearing khaki shorts and a green vest.

The weapon: Smithee said that Legan legally bought an AK-47-type rifle on July 9 in Nevada. 

Motive: No official motive has been given. The FBI said they are trying to figure out if Legan had any ideological philosophies.

An Instagram account created four days ago, and which is now unavailable, made reference to the festival and read: "Read Might is Right by Ragnar Redbeard. Why overcrowd towns and pave more open space to make room for hordes of mestizos and Silicon Valley white tw**s?" A mestizo is a person of mixed descent, commonly white and Hispanic or white and American Indian. "Right is Might," first published in the late 1800's, has been described as a white supremacist text that promotes anarchy while vilifying Christianity.

At the news conference, Smithee said that the shooting appeared to be “random.” He also dialed back earlier comments that there may be a second suspect. On Monday, he told reporters that “we just don’t know.” 

The response: Fire Chief Jeff Clet said that the first call for help came in Sunday at 5:42 p.m. Four engines responded and 16 mutual aid engines also started rolling to the scene. The fist fire engine arrived at 5:45 p.m. 

Smithee said that since the festival draws so many people each year – up to 100,000 – that a mini-police station was already stationed inside the outdoor area. He said that three officers “engaged” upon the shooter within a minute, killing him on site. “Despite the fact that they were outgunned,” Smithee said, the officers killed the gunman “very quickly.” 

Witnesses: Witnesses described a scene of chaos and “pandemonium.” Most thought the gunfire was fireworks at first. Smithee said that many vendors still have their trucks and tents up inside the festival site, but they are not allowed to retrieve it. H e said that the crime scene is much more expansive than law enforcement thought. “It’s going to be a very complicated and prolonged process for us,” Smithee said. 

President Trump: Trump addressed the shooting Monday in Washington, D.C.  "While families were spending time together at a local festival, a wicked murderer opened fire and killed three innocent civilians, including a young child," he said. "We grieve for their families, we ask God to comfort them with overflowing mercy and grace, praying for those recovering in the hospital." 

The festival: The Gilroy Garlic Festival has been held every year since 1979 on the full weekend in July at Christmas Hill Park. It’s one the country's most famous food festivals, located about 30 miles southeast of San Jose, Gilroy is home to about 60,000 people, and the city is a major producer of garlic. The festival is Gilroy’s top fundraiser, staffed with volunteers to raise money for nonprofit groups including clubs and schools.

KTVU's Sara Zendehnam, Christien Kafton, Maureen Naylor and Elissa Harrington contributed to this report.