Gilroy Garlic Festival Shooting Victims Identified As A 13-Year-Old Girl, A 6-Year-Old Boy, And A 25-Year-Old College Grad
The victims of the California shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival have been identified as two children and one college graduate.
On July 28, a 19-year-old gunman opened fire on a crowd with an AK-47-type assault-style weapon. The suspect, who was identified as Santino William Legan, killed three and wounded at least 12 people. Legan was fatally shot by police at the scene.
One of the victims murdered was 6-year-old Stephen Romero, who was at the event with his mother and grandmother.
A GoFundMe for Stephen’s family has been created to help with the cost of funeral expenses.
"My son had his whole life to live and he was only 6," his father, Alberto Romero, told NBC Bay Area. “That's all I can say."
Stephen’s mother and grandmother were also shot but are expected to recover from their injuries.
13-year-old Keyla Salazar was also named as one of the victims, according to the Santa Clara Coroner's Office.
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Around 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Keyla’s mother, Lorena Pimentel Vargas, posted a photo of her two daughters on Facebook and asked for help to locate Keyla.
“The one in blue is my daughter there was gunshots and I don’t know where she is I’ve been trying to call and see where my daughter is please if you have information please let me know please,” she wrote in Spanish.
Keyla’s family started a GoFundMe campaign to help cover funeral expenses. Nearly $40,000 was raised by Tuesday.
The last fatality victim from Sunday’s devastating attack was Trevor Irby, 25. Irby graduated from Keuka College in New York in 2017, where he majored in biology. He attended the festival with his girlfriend.
The president of Keuka College issued a statement confirming Irby’s death on July 29, reported USA Today.
“Our hearts go out to Trevor’s family and loved ones. 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.”
Ibry’s cousin Hayley Walborm wrote on Facebook that Irby was planning to propose to his longtime girlfriend.
“One person decided to take all of that away. 25 years, and you lived them to the fullest,” she wrote in the Facebook post. “I’m envious of the adventures you have gone on and the life you have lived to the absolute fullest in the past 25 years. I pray you’re at peace and I pray that grandpa protected you as best as he could.”
A GoFundMe was started for Trevor’s memorial.
Among the survivors of the shooting are a mother, father and their 3-year-old daughter as well as another child who suffered a gunshot wound in their leg.
California Governor Gavin Newsom called the survivors "true heroes" after visiting some of the injured at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.
"There was a 12-year-old shot who smiled when I walked into the room," Newsom said. "I said, 'How are you smiling after you were shot?' She starts describing the courage as she was shot and kept running. And here she is comforting the governor.”
Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee said the number of young victims made this shooting particularly hard.
“Any time a life is lost, it’s a tragedy,” Smithee at a Monday press conference. “But when it’s young people, it’s even worse. It’s very difficult.”
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