4 Dead, 15 Hurt in Gilroy Garlic Festival Shooting

Police and ambulances raced to a shooting at a food festival in California on Sunday, with three people reported dead and several injured, and video posted on social media showing people at the event running for cover as shots rang out.

One suspect was arrested, Gilroy City Councilman Dion Bracco said.

The scene was still active as of 8:34 p.m. PST, Gilroy Police tweeted. Residents nearby the festival remained on lockdown, including Roman Faria, who sat down for dinner when he heard crowds running down the street.

“There were tons of people crying, they had scratches from diving and being knocked over,” Faria said. “It was intense to see because this is our town.”

Attendees could be seen fleeing and screaming in videos posted on social media. It was unclear how many people were involved in the shooting about 30 miles southeast of San Jose.

“As a reminder please do not come to Christmas Hill Park, this is still an active crime scene,” police tweeted.

San Jose resident Angela Escarcega was in line to get garlic bread with her family when shots rang out. She initially thought the gunshots were fireworksbecause it was near the end of the three-day festival. When she realized what was happening, Escarcega ran from the gunfire with her son in her arms.

Escarcega said her family has been going to the festival for over 10 years, but after meeting up at the reunification center at Gavilan College, they said now they don’t want to go anymore.

“My little one,” she said of her 9-year-old son. “He’s ready to go home.”

Evenny Reyes of Gilroy, 13, told the Mercury News that she spent the day at the festival with her friends and relatives when chaos erupted.

“We were just leaving and we saw a guy with a bandana wrapped around his leg because he got shot. And there were people on the ground, crying,” Reyes said. “There was a little kid hurt on the ground. People were throwing tables and cutting fences to get out.”

Reyes said the scene was “like the movies — everyone was crying, people were screaming.”

Seven people attending the Gilroy Garlic Festival were hospitalized, area medical center spokespeople confirmed. No information on their conditions was immediately available, and it was unclear if the 12 wounded included the three people who died.

source: USAToday.com