Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Funeral Instead of 14th Birthday for Girl Killed at Gilroy Festival
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
August 7, 2019

Share

SAN JOSE — Mourners used colored markers to write messages on Keyla Salazar’s white casket before a funeral Tuesday for the middle-school teenager killed in a mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival.
“Keyla, you’re an angel. We will never forget you!” read one. Another said, “Keyla, I love you with all my heart.”
A Mass in English and Spanish was held at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in San Jose just two days after the girl with the sweet smile would have turned 14.
Relatives including her sobbing mother wore T-shirts with a photo of a grinning Keyla wearing a crown of small pink paper flowers.
It was the first memorial for one of three people killed July 28 when Santino William Legan cut through a fence and opened fire with a Romanian-made AK-47 style-rifle at the popular Gilroy festival. Also killed were 6-year-old Stephen Romero of San Jose and Trevor Irby, 25, of Romulus, New York. More than a dozen people were injured.
Legan, 19, killed himself after officers shot him multiple times, officials said. Authorities have not determined a motive in the attack that came the weekend before a shooting in Texas and another in Ohio left a combined 31 people dead.

Reporters Weren’t Permitted Inside Church

Authorities said Tuesday an ongoing investigation has found that Legan kept a “target list” that included religious groups, federal buildings, and both major U.S. political parties. The finding prompted the FBI to open a domestic terrorism case.

“She was a girl who loved science and technology, creating ingenious videos, making everyone laugh. Her greatest hope was to pursue a career in animation, designing and creating characters and stories.” — Statement by Keyla Salazar’s family
Reporters weren’t permitted inside the church, but the family released a statement before the service.
“She was a girl who loved science and technology, creating ingenious videos, making everyone laugh,” it said. “Her greatest hope was to pursue a career in animation, designing and creating characters and stories.
“Keylita was very loved by everyone and will always be in our hearts for her pure and beautiful life teachings that she left us.”
Afterward, San Jose Bishop Oscar Cantu estimated that hundreds of people had packed the church. “She was the spark and the joy of the family,” Cantu told reporters. “She always hugged every (family) member, particularly when they were having a bad day. That’s the legacy she leaves us.”
A private burial was planned in Palo Alto.
Keyla would have turned 14 on Sunday and the family had planned to go to a lake and celebrate, her aunt Katiuska Pimentel said. Instead, relatives and friends gathered over the weekend to celebrate her life at a San Jose park, where they showcased her artwork.
A mourner cries while attending a funeral for Keyla Salazar, 13, on Tuesday in San Jose. Salazar and two others were killed when a gunman opened fire at the Gilroy Garlic Festival July 28. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Hardworking Student Who Loved Drawing and Video Games

They served tacos, listened to a mariachi band and helped plant flowers to honor Keyla’s memory.
On the day of the shooting, the teenager was eating ice cream with her mother, stepfather, two younger sisters and other relatives when they heard what they thought were fireworks.
When they realized they were gunshots, her stepfather, Eduardo Lopez, said the family started to run away. But Keyla stayed back to help a relative who used a cane. When Lopez turned around, he said he saw Keyla fall and thought she was taking cover. When he went back to help her get up, he said he was shot in the arm.
“It’s been very hard losing her, especially for her mother. She hasn’t felt well,” Lopez said.
Pimentel described the teenager as a hardworking student who loved drawing and video games.
She loved animals and was planning on getting a puppy for one of her sisters. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, who attended Sunday’s celebration, promised the family a golden retriever.
“She was such a caring person,” Pimentel said. “She would give everything to other people. … We lost a really beautiful life.”

DON'T MISS

Let’s Keep Innovative Partnerships Crucial to Combating Climate Change: Fresno Dairy Manager

DON'T MISS

Immediate Threat: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

DON'T MISS

Two-Time Cy Young Winner Blake Snell Opts Out of Contract with Giants

DON'T MISS

No Matter the Outcome, We Are the True Losers of This Election

DON'T MISS

Russia’s Swift March Forward in Ukraine’s East

DON'T MISS

Rapper Young Thug Is a Free Man. Here Are Things to Know About His Plea.

DON'T MISS

AMOR Wellness Trunk-or-Treat Brings 700 Mendota Residents Together for Halloween Fun

DON'T MISS

What Kind of Trouble Is Miguel Arias Trying to Stir Up This Time?

DON'T MISS

MrBeast Probe Ends With Some Employees Fired but Finds No Proof of Sexual Misconduct Allegations

DON'T MISS

Lyft Pays $2.1 Million to Settle Case Alleging the Ride-Hailing Service Deceived Drivers

UP NEXT

Lyft Pays $2.1 Million to Settle Case Alleging the Ride-Hailing Service Deceived Drivers

UP NEXT

Southern California County Official Pleads Guilty to Bribery Charge in COVID Funds Scheme

UP NEXT

Visalia Rollerblader Suffered Major Injuries After Being Struck by Vehicle

UP NEXT

Fresno County Man Indicted for Possessing Stolen Guns

UP NEXT

Anti-Semitic Incident at Oakland Cafe Raises Concerns About Rising Intolerance

UP NEXT

Schwarzenegger Endorses Harris, Warns Against Another Trump Term

UP NEXT

Will Noncitizens Be Able to Vote? This California City Will Decide Their Fate

UP NEXT

California Voters Consider Controversial Vacation Homes Tax in Iconic Lake Tahoe Area

UP NEXT

Los Angeles Sees Bus Burned, Store Thefts and Rowdy Crowds After Dodgers Win World Series

UP NEXT

On Elon Musk’s X, Dems Are an Endangered Species While GOP Goes Viral

No Matter the Outcome, We Are the True Losers of This Election

13 hours ago

Russia’s Swift March Forward in Ukraine’s East

13 hours ago

Rapper Young Thug Is a Free Man. Here Are Things to Know About His Plea.

13 hours ago

AMOR Wellness Trunk-or-Treat Brings 700 Mendota Residents Together for Halloween Fun

13 hours ago

What Kind of Trouble Is Miguel Arias Trying to Stir Up This Time?

13 hours ago

MrBeast Probe Ends With Some Employees Fired but Finds No Proof of Sexual Misconduct Allegations

14 hours ago

Lyft Pays $2.1 Million to Settle Case Alleging the Ride-Hailing Service Deceived Drivers

14 hours ago

Fresno Man Shot to Death at NW Apartment Complex Is Identified

14 hours ago

Guns, Marijuana, Gambling: Fresno’s Smoke Shop Enforcement Issues $5M in Citations

15 hours ago

North Korea’s Long-Range Missile Test Signals Its Improved, Potential Capability to Attack US

18 hours ago

Let’s Keep Innovative Partnerships Crucial to Combating Climate Change: Fresno Dairy Manager

Sal Rodriguez CalMatters Opinion California’s farm families are really good at innovating to solve problems. I am proud to be a part ...

24 mins ago

24 mins ago

Let’s Keep Innovative Partnerships Crucial to Combating Climate Change: Fresno Dairy Manager

12 hours ago

Immediate Threat: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

13 hours ago

Two-Time Cy Young Winner Blake Snell Opts Out of Contract with Giants

13 hours ago

No Matter the Outcome, We Are the True Losers of This Election

A resident outside an apartment complex that was destroyed by Russian bombardment in Siversk, in Ukraine, Oct. 30, 2024. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times)
13 hours ago

Russia’s Swift March Forward in Ukraine’s East

13 hours ago

Rapper Young Thug Is a Free Man. Here Are Things to Know About His Plea.

13 hours ago

AMOR Wellness Trunk-or-Treat Brings 700 Mendota Residents Together for Halloween Fun

13 hours ago

What Kind of Trouble Is Miguel Arias Trying to Stir Up This Time?

Search

Send this to a friend