Police identify garlic festival shooter
Motive sought for killing of three in California
GILROY, CALIF.— The man believed to have opened fire at the Gilroy Garlic Festival on Sunday, killing three and wounding 12, was identified by police as Santino William Legan, 19, of Gilroy.
Three officers who were patrolling the park fatally shot Legan on Sunday after the19-yearold reportedly started firing at crowds gathered at the popular food festival in Santa Clara County. A 6-year-old boy, identified by family members as Stephen Romero of San Jose, a 13-year-old girl and a man in his 20s were killed, Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee said.
The officers began shooting at the gunman in less than a minute, he said, “despite the fact that they were outgunned, with their handguns, against a rifle.”
“We had thousands of people there in a very small area,” Smithee said, his eyes tearing up. “It could have gotten so much worse, so fast. I’m really proud that they got there as quickly as they did. There absolutely would have been more bloodshed.”
Smithee said there were no indications of another shooter. He said the gunman was able to circumvent security by entering from a creek area and cutting through a fence.
Authorities on Monday were searching for answers to why a gunman opened fire at the popular food festival.
The semiautomatic rifle that was used in the attack was purchased legally in Nevada on July 9. Legan was originally from Gilroy, but spent some time in Nevada living with family, according to the chief.
The FBI and Mineral County Sheriff’s deputies on Monday searched a unit in a triplex in Walker Lake, Nev., that authorities believe Legan used in the days before the shooting, according to Mineral County District Attorney Sean Rowe.
Authorities also searched a house owned by Legan’s family, but were still trying to determine a motive. A source said detectives were investigating Legan’s background and statements he had made on social media.
In the hours before the shooting, Legan appeared to have posted a photo on his Instagram profile, which has since been deleted, of what appeared to be the Gilroy Garlic Festival with the caption: “Ayyy garlic festival time come get wasted on overpriced (expletive).”
He also appeared to have posted a photo of a Smokey Bear sign warning about fire danger with a caption that instructed people to read Might Is Right by Ragnar Redbeard. The novel, published in 1890, includes principles related to social Darwinism and is described as including misogynistic and racist ideas.
The Gilroy Garlic Festival began in 1979. Attendance has exceeded 100,000 in some years. Organizers say it has raised more than $11.7 million (U.S.) for local schools and non-profit groups over the years, and has given the city, which bills itself the “Garlic Capital of the U.S.” — 90 per cent of U.S. garlic is grown in California — a strong sense of identity and pride.