Teen gunman scorned California garlic festival on social media before mass shooting

[webfact]

Teen gunman scorned California garlic festival on social media before mass shooting

By Alexandria Sage

 

Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee speaks at a news conference, the day after a mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic festival, at a police station in Gilroy, California, U.S. July 29, 2019. REUTERS/Alexandria Sage

 

GILROY, Calif. (Reuters) - A California teenager was identified by police on Monday as the gunman who opened fire with an assault rifle at a garlic festival in Gilroy, California, killing three people, including two children.

 

Santino William Legan, 19, cut through a fence at the festival on Sunday evening and shot people seemingly at random with an "AK-47-style" assault rifle, Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee told reporters. Legan was fatally shot by three police officers armed with handguns.

 

"It could have gone so much worse so fast," Smithee said, noting the festival, which takes place about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Silicon Valley, is attended by thousands of visitors.

 

Police were still trying to determine a motive for the shooting and investigating unconfirmed reports by eyewitnesses that Legan may have had an accomplice.

 

Legan killed a 6-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl and a man in his 20s, Smithee said. Police believe Legan, who was originally from Gilroy, purchased the rifle legally on July 9 in Nevada, where he had been living with family members.

 

At least 12 people were injured, but it was unclear how many of them were struck by gunfire. Police had initially said that 15 people were injured.

Seven of the victims, ranging in age between 12 and 69 years old, were taken to nearby Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. One was released and another was transferred to another facility, according to the hospital .

 

Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee on Monday confirmed the identity of the California garlic festival shooting suspect as Santino William Legan, but said the motive is still under investigation. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

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.

Among those killed was a 6-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl and a man in his 20s, Smithee said. 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.

 

Of the five remaining patients, one was listed in critical condition, one in serious condition and the other in fair condition. Two patients have requested no information be released.

 

St. Louise Regional Medical Center in Gilroy received six patients with gunshot wounds, including one of the victims who later died, the hospital said.

 

Two other victims were transferred to another hospital and three were discharged. Another eight people came with non-gunshot injuries, but were not admitted to the hospital.

 

'WICKED MURDERER'

President Donald Trump described the gunman as a "wicked murderer" during an event at the White House, and asked Americans to pray for the victims.

"We grieve for their families, and we ask that God will comfort them with his overflowing mercy and grace," he said.

 

The gunman was believed to have cut through a fence in order evade metal detectors and other security at the festival entrance, police said.

 

Legan appeared to post a photograph from the festival on his Instagram account shortly before the shooting, with captions expressing his disdain for the event.

 

"Ayyy garlic festival time," he wrote beneath a picture of people walking through the festival grounds. "Come get wasted on overpriced shit."

 

Another photograph posted on Sunday showed a sign warning of a high danger of forest fires. Its caption urged people to read "Might is Right," a racist and sexist treatise written by the pseudonymous author Ragnar Redbeard in the 19th century.

 

"Why overcrowd towns and pave more open space to make room for hordes of mestizos and Silicon Valley white twats?" the caption said. The account was only a few days old, and was deactivated on Monday..

 

Footage uploaded to social media showed festival attendees scattering in fear and confusion as loud popping sounds could be heard in the background.

 

Police declined to name the fatalities on Monday, but one of them was identified by his grandmother in an interview with the local ABC affiliate as Stephen Romero, 6. Maribel Romero described Stephen as a "loving boy" who was "always kind, happy and ... playful."

 

Romero was near a bouncy house when he was shot, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

 

His mother and the boy's other grandmother were also shot and were being treated in a hospital, Maribel Romero told local media.

 

Keyla Salazar, 13, of San Jose was also killed in the shooting, the Santa Clara Coroner's Office said.

 

Founded in 1979, the Gilroy Garlic Festival is an annual event run by volunteers and held outdoors at Christmas Hill Park. The agricultural community bills itself as the "Garlic Capital of the World."

 

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.

 

(Additional reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Rich McKay in Atlanta, Brendan O'Brien in Chicago, Jonathan Allen in New York and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; editing by Nick Zieminski and Jonathan Oatis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-07-30

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[SammyT]

A 19 year old unhinged kid able to buy an AK47 assault rifle with ease?

 

I'm sure those Americans who laughed at my country's (NZ) new gun laws will be able to explain to me how theirs are working so well. 

[OneMoreFarang]

Just another day in the land of the free.

[holy cow cm]

Unfortunately too close to my old home which is just little more north. It is sad and mind boggling why the guns are not put away safely in each house and characters of kids always closely looked at. AK style might be an SKS. Very easy to get.

Edited July 30, 2019 by holy cow cm

[Tug]

Now there is a national emergency gun control well Donald thought so............

[edwinchester]

"We grieve for their families, and we ask that God will comfort them with his overflowing mercy and grace,"

 

Somebody usually so incoherent and lacking empathy obviously employed a scriptwriter this time.

[Scott]

Troll posts removed.

 

[lust]

1 hour ago, SammyT said:

A 19 year old unhinged kid able to buy an AK47 assault rifle with ease?

 

I'm sure those Americans who laughed at my country's (NZ) new gun laws will be able to explain to me how theirs are working so well. 

It’s actually a semi-automatic SKS rifle. The media thinks every gun is an ar15 or ak47. Not like it really matters, though. People can pull their fingers just about as fast as an auto can fire. 

[Boatfreak]

And another right wing terrorist. 

[Lucius verus]

What's the point of having strict gun laws, ie CAL when you can simply drive over to states with lax gun laws and fill the boot with ak 47's and pump action shotguns and drive back home.?

No point banning guns and closing down factories because they will simply relocate to Mexico and ship them in illegally same as drugs & people.

The yanks are stuck with this problem.

[newatthis]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

"We grieve for their families, and we ask that God will comfort them with his overflowing mercy and grace," he said.

With the regularity of these occurences, these are just empty words.

[JemJem]

Have you noticed that, especially in the US, the frequency of extreme right-wing (nationalist, Aryanist, etc.) terror is fast catching up with the frequency of Islamist terror. Whether this is related to the Trump factor should be discussed. My opinion is that it IS very much related. Of course, almost all Trump-lovers will deny that.

[Basil B]

American gun laws are about as sane as these guys...

 

[Basil B]

Do not go with anyone being murdered, but if it has to be someone luv it to be one of the politicians in the pay of the NRA, and hope their last words are "Who the bloody hell let that mad man get that gun?" 

[soalbundy]

13 hours ago, edwinchester said:

"We grieve for their families, and we ask that God will comfort them with his overflowing mercy and grace,"

 

Somebody usually so incoherent and lacking empathy obviously employed a scriptwriter this time.

I think he meant the NRA.

[soalbundy]

11 hours ago, Lucius verus said:

What's the point of having strict gun laws, ie CAL when you can simply drive over to states with lax gun laws and fill the boot with ak 47's and pump action shotguns and drive back home.?

No point banning guns and closing down factories because they will simply relocate to Mexico and ship them in illegally same as drugs & people.

The yanks are stuck with this problem.

It's not a problem, ban firearms from the public full stop. No civilised country's citizens needs weapons but of course we are talking about America here, as Oscar Wilde said, "A country that has gone from barbarism to decadence without the usual interval of civilisation."

[Date Masamune]

What's the point of having strict gun laws, ie CAL when you can simply drive over to states with lax gun laws and fill the boot with ak 47's and pump action shotguns and drive back home.?
No point banning guns and closing down factories because they will simply relocate to Mexico and ship them in illegally same as drugs & people.
The yanks are stuck with this problem.

Well, Guns are strictly controlled in Mexico
The guns there come form the US
Smuggle drugs in, Cash and weapons out.

[Mel52]

Yeah great another one in my home country it never stops bothering me but this is yet another weird one that will probably baffle psychologists forever. No wonder some people are getting the impression that America is as violent as a third world country. It still never stops shocking me.

 

 

 

[Mel52]

It’s always worse when you hear about something bad happening in the world in your home country.

 

 

[Mel52]

I thought I heard the news say it was an SKS or something which is Chinese made. Still yet another sad story.

 

 

 

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, JemJem said:

Have you noticed that, especially in the US, the frequency of extreme right-wing (nationalist, Aryanist, etc.) terror is fast catching up with the frequency of Islamist terror. Whether this is related to the Trump factor should be discussed. My opinion is that it IS very much related. Of course, almost all Trump-lovers will deny that.

Incorrect. In the U.S. right wing terrorism is a much bigger problem than Islamic terrorism. Not saying the latter isn't a threat. However, because the right wing terrorists are white (ingrained racial bias of the majority in the U.S.) and often identify as "patriotic" and "Christian" Americans there has been much less government focus on combatting the right wing kind. Also currently the occupant of the white house is someone that the white supremacists feel is with them. 

[Jingthing]

The Gilroy garlic festival is a great event. Yes I have been. It's mostly about food of course but it's also a wonderful unifying force for the rural community of Gilroy. Because it's close enough to the San Francisco Bay Area with it's great cities, it always draws the crowds. I assume they still have garlic ice cream. I hope this white supremacist terrorist scum hasn't ruined this wonderful event. That was probably part of his motivation, as he was a Gilroy boy to do harm to the thing that put Gilroy on the map. 

[mike787]

The US has a gun problem, equally, Thailand has a proportionate road fatality epidemic, both are long standing.  THat's the easy part, now for the impossible:  WHAT is anyone going to do about it??  And when?

[stevenl]

8 hours ago, mike787 said:

The US has a gun problem, equally, Thailand has a proportionate road fatality epidemic, both are long standing.  THat's the easy part, now for the impossible:  WHAT is anyone going to do about it??  And when?

How is this shooting related to Thailand? Please stop deflecting.

[Carib]

I am almost sure the NRA will be in favor of arming all people going to festivals now, it is the usual respons to a shooting. Get more arms and all will be good...sigh.

[RJRS1301]

• Will the POTUS now advocate for arming stall holders at festivals as he suggested with schoolteachers?

This makes frightening reading

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States_in_2019

 

[mike787]

1 hour ago, stevenl said:

How is this shooting related to Thailand? Please stop deflecting.

NOT a deflection.  Rather a comparison of similarities.

[lannarebirth]

On 7/29/2019 at 5:39 PM, edwinchester said:

"We grieve for their families, and we ask that God will comfort them with his overflowing mercy and grace,"

 

Somebody usually so incoherent and lacking empathy obviously employed a scriptwriter this time.

 

I'm surprised he didn't spontaneously combust.

[kiwiaussie]

12 minutes ago, mike787 said:

NOT a deflection.  Rather a comparison of similarities.

With two very different solutions...

[Rhys]

10 hours ago, Jingthing said:

The Gilroy garlic festival is a great event. Yes I have been. It's mostly about food of course but it's also a wonderful unifying force for the rural community of Gilroy. Because it's close enough to the San Francisco Bay Area with it's great cities, it always draws the crowds. I assume they still have garlic ice cream. I hope this white supremacist terrorist scum hasn't ruined this wonderful event. That was probably part of his motivation, as he was a Gilroy boy to do harm to the thing that put Gilroy on the map. 

 

As you know Gilroy has a strong Hispanic population mixed with some illegal workers. The shooter appears to have come for a middle class background based on the press.  I am just wondering if the rhetoric of racism, have and have not, prejudice mixed into this.  As you know Gilroy is noted more for Agriculture and artichokes.  However, due to the affordable housing in Gilroy compared to the  Hy 101 up the peninsula, I wonder how much of the SV types live in the Gilroy area.    Generally, the news in that area is the Fresno communities and gang related violence.

 

RIP to the victims and their families.

 

I did not like the Garlic Ice Cream.   However the Mexican food was great.