This archive report was first published on 29 July 2019.
On Sunday, July 28, 2019, a devastating shooting occurred at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California, leaving at least three people dead and 15 others injured.
According to authorities, a suspect carrying an assault-style rifle was fatally shot by the Gilroy police. The police were still searching for a possible accomplice in the city, which is about 30 miles southeast of San Jose.
Chief Scot Smithee of the Police Department stated, 'We believe based on witness statements that there was a second individual involved in some way, we just don’t know in what way.'
The shooting took place during the Gilroy Garlic Festival, an annual three-day event held at Christmas Hill Park. The festival's executive director, Brian Bowe, described the event as a 'kind of family reunion' that had been held for several decades.
Marie Blankley, the mayor pro tempore, called the shooting 'heartbreaking and tragic,' while Gov. Gavin Newsom described it as 'nothing short of horrific.'
Witnesses described the scene as chaotic, with attendees running past white tents in a grassy field, apparently fleeing. One injured attendee, Lesley Sanchez, 15, a Gilroy High School cheerleader, was shot in the hip but was well enough to receive visitors in her hospital room on Sunday night.
