America’s epidemic of mass shootingserupted again on Sunday at a family-friendly festival in California, where police say three people, including a6-year-old boyand a 13-year-old girl, were fatally shot and 12 others were injured after a suspected gunman cut through a security fence and randomly opened fire.
“This isnothing short of horrific,” tweeted California Gov. Gavin Newsom after the attack on the closing day of the Gilroy Garlic Festival, about 30 miles southeast of San Jose in Gilroy. The state’s junior U.S. senator, Democrat Kamala Harris, decried “a gun violence epidemic that we cannot tolerate.”
“There absolutely would have been more bloodshed with the number of people in the small area where they were in,” he said Monday. “It was very fortunate they were able to engage him when they did.”
Records revealed the gunman had purchased the weapon legally in Nevada on July 9, he said.
Those who were killed:
Stephen Romero
Stephen Romero.
A 6-year-old recent kindergarten graduate who excitedly looked ahead to the start of first grade, Stephen Romero was at the festival with his mother and maternal grandmother. He was playing in an inflated bounce house when the shooting broke out, his father Alberto Romero told theMercury News.
He was struck in the back, and later died at an hospital. His mother and grandmother were injured.
“He was joyful, always wanted to play, always positive,” his father told the newspaper. “My son had his whole life to live and he was only 6,” he added in an interview withNBC Bay Area.
Stephen’s paternal grandmother, Maribel Romero, toldABC7 Newsthat he was a “loving boy,” adding that he was “always kind, happy and, you know, playful.”
“I just hope there is justice and they catch the last person or the other person and that there’s justice,” she said. “I want justice for my grandson.”
“It is with profound sadness that I share the devastating news that a member of the Keuka College family was among the victims of the mass shooting over the weekend in California,” wrote Storey.
The statement continued: “We also send sincere condolences to College alumna Sarah Warner, who was with Trevor at the California garlic festival where the shooting took place. We were relieved to learn that Sarah was not physically injured in the shooting. We offer our support and prayers to Sarah and her family. ”
Keyla Salazar
Go Fund Me
On Monday, the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office released the name of the third Gilroy shooting victim as 13-year-old Keyla Salazar, reportsKRON.
“I have to words to describe this pain I’m feeling,” Vargas wrote on Facebook.
AGoFundMe has been set upto support the San Jose girl’s family.
source: people.com
