#gilroy ca

This is an edit to reflect the current state of things in the wake of the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting. 

Officially, three people died as a result of the attack. Their names are Stephen Luciano Romero, age 6; Keyla Salazar, age 13; and Trevor Irby, age 25. Reports vary, but it is believed that between 12 and 16 individuals were left wounded as a result of the mass shooting.

Two confirmed GoFundMe pages can be found here and here. One benefits the mother of Stephen Luciano Romero as she recovers from her injuries. The other benefits a couple of other victims of the shooting in their medical costs as well.

There is confirmed to have only been one shooter, who killed himself at the scene and whose name and personal history I will not dignify with attention nor mention. The shooter utilized an automatic weapon which is not legal in the state of California to possess, obtained across state lines and then brought over, seemingly with the express purpose of carrying out the attack.

If you’re American, I invite you as a member of the public to find your representative and write to them demanding what you, as a constituent, would like to see done about gun violence in this country. Additionally, you can donate blood at any time to benefit potentially the victims of this crisis, or any other traumatic incident that occurs in your community. More than anything, though, if you’re American and concerned about the frequency of mass shootings, acts of domestic terrorism, and incidences of gun violence, I advise you to register to vote, and show up when it comes time to have your voice heard.

Sources can be found here. 

If anything about the above information changes, I will edit the post to best reflect that. The original iteration of this post has been retained below for complete transparency. I apologize for the dissemination of inaccurate information in the initial hours following the shooting. The post reflected what was available information at the time.

Original Post:

For those unaware, a mass shooting occurred today in Gilroy, CA at 5:30pm Pacific Time. Two men opened fire with assault rifles on thousands of people, including children, who were enjoying the region's annual Garlic Festival. At present, there is a reported 60 people injured. Not all of those injured are shot, but also include those trampled as they ran from gunfire, or incurred injury in a related fashion. This is incredibly close to home for me, and countless others local to the Bay Area. If you are local, please donate blood, contact your congressional and senate representatives, and check in with loved ones in and around the area. Be safe. These are truly terrifying times.