Victims: The three slain were a child, a teen and recent college grad
One was a happy, 6-year-old boy who had just savored one of life’s early milestones — graduating from kindergarten. Another was a teenage girl who dreamed of someday drawing animations. A third was a recent college graduate living with his girlfriend in Santa Cruz.
All three had come with family or friends to take in the fun, fare and smells of Gilroy’s world-famous garlic festival on a sunny summer Sunday. Before the close of the festival’s third and last day, all three were suddenly gunned down by a 19-year-old man who authorities say had broken into the festival grounds and sprayed gunfire into a crowd.
Authorities identified the deceased victims Monday as 6-year-old Stephen Romero of San Jose, 13-year-old Keyla Salazar of San Jose and 25-yearold Trevor Irby of Romulus, New York.
At least 19 people were taken to St. Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy and Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose with injuries related to the shooting.
As of 5 p.m. Monday, five patients remained at Valley Medical Center, with one in critical condition, one in serious condition and one in fair condition. The other two requested privacy about their conditions.
The shooter, identified as Santino William Legan, was killed in a shootout by three officers shortly after bursting into the festival grounds through a cut fence, according to authorities.
Alberto Romero was home in San Jose late Sunday afternoon when he got a frantic call from his wife, who told him their 6-yearold son had been shot in the back at the festival, she herself was shot in the stomach and hand and her mother was hit in the leg.
“I couldn’t believe what was happening, that what she was saying was a lie, that maybe I was dreaming,” said Romero, a 33-year-old electrician.
Police officers found Stephen suffering from a gunshot wound in the back. Emergency responders quickly transported the boy to St. Louise, where he was pronounced dead, according to authorities.
After the shock of saying goodbye to Stephen at the hospital in Gilroy, Alberto Romero raced 30 miles north to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, where his wife and motherin-law had been taken.
His wife, Barbara, was placed in a medically induced coma.
Keyla, 13, was anticipating her 14th birthday on Aug. 4 when she was shot in the chest while trying to flee with family from the sound of bullets ripping through the air.
“It was supposed to be a beautiful Sunday with the family and it ended up being a horrible experience, a really painful experience,” her aunt, Katiuska Pimentel, said Monday.
“You don’t go to a garlic festival and expect to come out without a loved one who has been shot and killed,” she said.
Pimentel said Keyla was a compassionate and loving little girl who worked hard at school in East San Jose, loved spending time with her younger sisters and liked animals and playing video games.
“She wanted to build her own YouTube channel and her dream was to draw animations for video games and movies,” Pimentel said. “It’s a shock for all of her family. We cant believe it, that it’s happening.”
Irby was living in Santa Cruz with his girlfriend when they decided to attend the festival, according to a GoFundMe page set up by his friends.
“Trevor was a brother, a son, a grandson, a boyfriend, a best friend and a bright light to all who knew him,” the page states. “Trevor was an excellent pillar of the Keuka College & Romulus communities and a kind & positive soul. Trevor will forever live on in the memory of his loved ones.”
According to a statement from Keuka College in upstate New York, Irby graduated there with a biology degree in 2017. He spent nearly three years as a wine server at Hunt Country Vineyards before moving to California, according to his LinkedIn account.
Amy Storey, president of Keuka College, released a statement offering her condolences to Irby’s family.
“Our hearts go out to Trevor’s family and loved ones,” Storey wrote. “We are shocked that this latest episode of senseless gun violence resulted in the loss of one of our recent graduates — graduates in whom we place so much hope because of their potential to create a brighter tomorrow.”
Wendy Towner, the owner of the beekeeping and bee removal company The Honey Ladies, and her husband, Francisco Aguilera, were among the 11 who suffered gunshot wounds, according to a GoFundMe page started by Wendy’s brother, Troy Towner.
The pair were among dozens of vendors selling goods at the weekend festival when the gunfire began, according to The Honey Ladies Facebook page and the GoFundMe page.
Towner and Aguilera were both shot in the leg and underwent surgery but are expected to remain in the hospital for up to 10 days, according to the page.
Their son was saved from the gunfire when another festivalgoer dragged him under a table, the page states.
Other victims injured during the shooting include 26-year-old Gabriella Gaus, 12-year-old Leslie Andres and high school junior Lesley Sanchez, according to their family and friends.
Gaus was grazed by a bullet on her left shoulder and back, and bullet fragments are still stuck in her shoulder, according to a GoFundMe page set up for her.
“She recently turned 26 and is no longer covered with health insurance. The cost of these new medical bills are still unknown but we can only imagine that without insurance they will be expensive,” the page states.
Sanchez, a member of the Gilroy High School cheer team, was volunteering at the team’s fundraising booth when she was struck by a bullet in the abdomen, according to Molly Guerin, 40, of Morgan Hill.
Guerin, who quickly realized Sanchez had been injured, pressed her hand to her wound to try to stop the bleeding, she said.
“There was still gunfire happening, everyone screamed and ran into a booth next to us, but I didn’t leave her side,” Guerin said in an interview Monday.
Mark Mendoza, a cousin of Andres, said he was eating at some picnic tables with his family, including several relatives visiting from Mexico, when the shooting started.
“There were a lot of kids; the shooter was next to a kids play area,” Mendoza said.