At least 18 people were shot and three killed — including a 6-year-old boy — at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California, according to reports.
Police officials confirmed the number of deceased at a press conference late Sunday local time. They said the suspec♛te꧑d gunman behind the 5:40 p.m. shooting had been killed as well.
“We have at least 15 people injured,” said Gilroy police Capt. Scot Smithee. “Four fatalities, including the suspect.”
Sources told NBC Bay Area that 11 v🅷ictims were by ambulance and helicopter, while the others were transported in a civilian vehicle.
The conditions♒ of the people who survived ranged from critical to fair, according to hospital offici🦩als.
A 12-year-old girl was also among the victims who had been shot, in addition to the 6-year-old boy.𝔉 She reportedly was hospitalized and treated for a bullet wound to her leg.
Relatives of the 6-year-old — identified by NBC as Stephen Romero — said he was among those killed. His mother reportedly was injured, along with several family members.
Police said Sunday night that they were still searching for “a second individual” possibly linked to the shooting.
“Some witnesses were reporting that there may have been a second suspect,” Smithee said at a press conference.
Photo💛s tweeted out by local reporters showed officers in full tactical gear scouring a creek with 𒆙canine units and helicopters overhead.
Witnesses to the 5:40 p.m. shooting described the confusion and panic at the scene to𝐆✃ the Mercury News.
Evenny Reyes of 🌄Gilroy, 13, told 💜the newspaper she spent the day at the festival with her friends and relatives.
“We were just leaving and we saw a guy with a bandanna 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 she didn’t run at first because the gunshots sounded like fireworks. “It started going for five minutes, maybe three. It was like the movies — everyone was crying, people were screaming.”
With wires