The gunman in the deadly Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting killed himself, according to a finding by the Santa Clara County coroner’s office that contradicts earlier police accounts that officers fired the fatal shot.
Santino William Legan, 19, shot and killed three people— including two children — Sunday at the festival. Thirteen others were wounded. Authorities have not been able to determine his motive.
Nicole Lopez, a senior office specialist in the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office, told The Associated Press on Friday that Legan’s cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police Chief Called Officers ‘Heroes’
Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee had previously said Legan was shot and killed by three officers who had responded in less than a minute. Smithee has called the officers “heroes” for preventing additional casualties by taking down the shooter.
Authorities arrested a man earlier this week on suspicion of making threats online that apparently referenced the deadly shooting.
Jose Pinon of Gilroy posted Wednesday on Facebook that “my goal is to kill 500, not three.” Gilroy police Capt. Joseph Deras said officials did not seize any weapons from Pinon’s home Thursday and do not believe he was planning an attack.
Pinon, 40, is charged with making criminal threats, which is a felony, and violating a domestic violence-related restraining order, which is a misdemeanor, Deras said. He was in jail Friday on $30,000 bail.
Another Man Claimed Participation
A 22-year-old man, whom police did not identify, posted on Facebook soon after the shooting that he had participated — prompting a SWAT response to his Gilroy home.
The 22-year-old man was arrested on unrelated warrants but police did not charge him in connection with his Facebook post because authorities did not believe he had any “criminal intent,” Deras said.
Officials say their investigation has not shown that anyone else was involved.
