REALITY TV
TV
MOVIES
MUSIC
CELEBRITY
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use Accuracy & Fairness Corrections & Clarifications Ethics Code Your Ad Choices
© MEAWW All rights reserved
MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CRIME & JUSTICE

Gilroy shooting: Gunman identified as Santino William Legan, a 19-year-old white man who was killed within minutes of opening fire

Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee said the shooting occurred on the north side of the festival as officers in the region engaged with the suspect and killed him in less than a few minutes.
UPDATED JUL 29, 2019

GILROY, CALIFORNIA: The suspect in the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting in California has been identified as 19-year-old Santino William Legan. The attack claimed three lives, injuring over a dozen people at one of the largest food festivals in the country on July 28.

Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee said the shooting occurred on the north side of the festival as the officers in the region engaged with the suspect and killed him in less than a few minutes. Reports state that there may have been two suspects, with one still at large hours after the deadly shooting, according to NBC Bay Area.

"It's incredibly sad and disheartening that an event that does so much good for our community has to suffer from a tragedy like this," Smithee said.

Authorities, however, said they were not sure if the second suspect was involved in the shooting or had supported the shooter. The motive for the shooting has not yet been revealed. The police chief has asked witnesses, who may have seen something important during the incident, to come forward and share information, including pictures and video of the suspect. 

Authorities added that there was stringent security for those entering the festival, including wand metal detectors to weed out people carrying weapons. Smithee said he believed the suspects used some kind of tool to cut through a fence to enter the festival grounds.

The police have asked people to avoid visiting the area where the shooting occurred as the situation is still being considered active, over three hours after the incident. Officers are currently searching for another suspect near Gilroy High School with police helicopters overhead, according to Inquisitr

According to witnesses, at least one of the suspects was a white man wearing army fatigues and holding a long rifle. Some witnesses said that when they saw the shooting, they initially believed that he was a law enforcement officer because of the clothes he was wearing and looked "angry."

The shooting led to a chaotic scene as thousands of people ran to seek cover from the gunfire: "There were tons of people crying, they had scratches from diving and being knocked over," a witness, Roman Faria, told USA Today. “It was intense to see because this is our town.”

Another witness Miquita Price told CNN that she was running from the shooter when a woman next to her was shot: "It’s one of the scariest feelings. I think this is all like a nightmare. I don’t believe this is reality right now." 

POPULAR ON MEAWW
MORE ON MEAWW