A California teenager has been identified by police as the gunman who killed three people, including two children, at a food festival south of San Francisco.
Santino William Legan, 19, cut through a fence at the festival yesterday evening and shot at people with an "AK-47-style" assault rifle at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee told reporters.
Within a minute of opening fire, Legan was fatally shot by three onsite police officers armed with handguns.
"It could have gone so much worse so fast," Chief Smithee said, noting the festival, which takes place about 48km (30 miles) southeast of Silicon Valley, America's tech hub, welcomes thousands of visitors.
Police were still trying to determine the motive. They were also investigating unconfirmed reports by eyewitnesses that Legan may have had an accomplice.
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Legan killed a six-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl and a man in his 20s, Chief Smithee said.
Police believe Legan purchased the rifle legally in Nevada on 9 July, the officer added.
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.
The gunman cut through a fence to 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 accompanied by disgruntled captions. The account only appeared to be a few days old, and was deactivated at some point this morning.
"Ayyy garlic festival time," he wrote in the caption to the picture of people walking through the festival grounds. "Come get wasted on overpriced sh*t."
"I want justice for my grandson": Grandmother of six-year-old boy killed in shooting at garlic festival in California describes her grandson as "always kind and happy." https://t.co/uxAru4vVQ8 pic.twitter.com/3m5O069jLX
— ABC News (@ABC) July 29, 2019
Police declined to identify the victims today, but one of them was identified by his grandmother as Stephen Romero in an interview with a local ABC affiliate. Maribel Romero described Stephen as a "loving boy" who was "always kind, happy and ... playful".
Stephen was near a bouncy house when he was shot, the San Jose Mercury News reported.
"He was joyful, always wanted to play, always positive," his father told the San Jose newspaper during an interview at the hospital where the boy died.
His mother and the boy's other grandmother were also shot and were being treated in a hospital, Maribel Romero told local media.
US President Donald Trump described the gunman as a "wicked murderer" and asked people to pray for the victims during an event at the White House.
"We grieve for their families, and we ask that God will comfort them with his overflowing mercy and grace," he said.
Founded in 1979, the Gilroy Garlic Festival is an annual event run by volunteers and held outdoors at Christmas Hill Park.
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.
