GILROY, Calif. — Hundreds of people gathered Monday evening to mourn the victims of Sunday’s deadly shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival.
The vigil-memorial happened in the green space between Gilroy City Hall and the library about 24 hours after a Santino Legan, 19, opened fire on the city’s annual event, killing three people and injuring more than a dozen others.
Local artist Ignacio Moya, who owns Moya Art Gallery and Studio in Gilroy, brought a banner he’d worked through the night to paint.
“I was like, ‘I want to do something. I need to bring something tomorrow,’ and that image got stuck in my head,” Moya told AB10 News.
The banner reads “Gilroy Strong” and bears an American flag in faded brush strokes. In the foreground, two bulbs of garlic intertwine to form a heart.
“That was my idea, to make a heart with two garlics, to represent our city and also to represent community together, stronger,” Moya said. “None of my family members got hurt, but my community is my family, so that hurts me a lot.”
Some people in the crowd wore shirts that said “Gilroy Strong.” City Councilman Peter Leroe-Munoz, speaking at the vigil-memorial, said those have to be more than just words.
“We have to speak those words, we have to believe those words and then we have to live those words,” Leroe-Munoz said, leading the crowd in a chant. “We are Gilroy Strong. We are Gilroy Strong. We are Gilroy Strong. Yes, we are.”
The vigil-memorial’s organizer read the names of the three people killed in Sunday’s shooting — Keyla Salazar, 13, Stephen Romero, 6, and Trevor Irby, 25 — followed by a moment of silence as hundreds of mourners held lit candles.
State Senator Bill Monning, who represents Gilroy, told the crowd that the decisive action of law enforcement officers saved many people’s lives.
“But for those families who lost loved ones, that’s not what they’re thinking of. They’re thinking of the loss,” Monning said. “We, as Gilroy, pull together not only to mourn those losses but to support each other.”
He mentioned Gilroy Mayor Roland Velasco was at the Garlic Festival Sunday evening and helped with the triage process, as the number of people wounded by gunshot grew.
PHOTOS: Gilroy comes together to mourn victims of Garlic Festival shooting
Velasco, his voice weary, told the crowd at the vigil-memorial, “it’s been a shock over the last 24 hours, but to see all of you here tonight, I am just so proud to be your mayor.”
Elected officials spoke, and community members had the chance to sign up to speak. Many did, offering prayers and words of hope and encouragement.
“All of us, together, we’re going to be stronger,” Moya told ABC10. “This is something that we’re never going to forget, you know, but we can heal.”
He said he and his 10-year-old son were about to head to the Garlic Festival late Sunday afternoon, but they opted to go play mini-golf in San Jose instead. He thinks about how close he and his son were from making a different, more fateful decision. It has given him new perspective on life, he says — a more loving, appreciating one. He left the vigil-memorial with his wife, son and 18-year-old daughter gathered around him.
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