Coroner finds California festival gunman killed himself, contradicting police account

UPDATE: Gilroy Police are confirming the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

On Friday afternoon, Police held another press conference on the latest development. The police chief said his officers fired multiple rounds at the suspect causing him to fall down. The chief then said when the suspect was down they believe he shot himself in the head.

“I don’t think that really changes much of anything, but if someone were to look at just the cause and manner they might start asking questions and I want to make sure the information remained consistent,” said Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee.

The chief also said there will be a full report released from the coroner explaining how many times the suspect was hit and where he was hit by officers. However, it will take time for the report to be released.

Police don’t know if officers realized the gunman had shot himself, but they are waiting for the full report to be released.

“Due to the fast action of the officers and engaging with him in less than a minute, there is no doubt that they eliminated the threat, which helped save lives of innocent people and ended the incident as quickly as possible,” said City of Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee. “In my mind this changes nothing.”

The chief went on to say that it is a waiting game until the scene gets processed and the investigation is finished.

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The coroner has found that California festival gunman Santino William Legan killed himself, contradicting police account that officers fired the fatal shot.

The Santa Clara County coroner’s office says the gunman in the deadly Northern California festival shooting killed himself, a finding that contradicts earlier police account that officers fired the fatal shot.

19-year-old Santino William Legan shot and killed three people – including two children – Sunday at the Gilroy Garlic Festival.

Nicole Lopez, a senior office specialist in the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office, says Friday that Legan’s cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee had previously said Legan was shot and killed by three officers who responded in less than a minute. Smithee has called the officers “heroes” for preventing additional casualties by taking down the shooter.

The shooting happened Sunday evening, the last night of the festival. Three people were killed and a dozen more were wounded before police shot and killed the suspect.

The three who died were 6-year-old Stephen Romero, 13-year-old Keyla Salazar and 25-year-old Trevor Irby.

Law enforcement is still looking for a motive for the attack. The FBI is looking at social media counts, the suspect’s digital footprint and interviews to learn more.

A press conference is set for 4:00.

We will have a live feed available to stream as the story develops.