Gilroy residents honor victims on anniversary of garlic festival shooting

GILROY, Calif (KION) On Sunday evening, residents prepared to take a moment of silence, then ring bells in honor of the victims in the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting.

People all over the city participated in the event. The bells were sold by the Leadership Gilroy Class of 2020—a local organization raising money for small nonprofits in the area. They decided to fundraise because the nonprofits usually set up booths at the Garlic Festival each year. But, without a festival in 2020, organizers said they could use the financial boost.

Organizers also said the bells had a deeper meaning.

“Our little town of Gilroy has been through a tremendous amount of stuff over the last year starting with the garlic festival," Leadership Gilroy Class of 2020 member Danielle Brothers said. "So we just wanted to kind of bring some celebration to the community and uplift people a little bit.”

The bell-ringing on Sunday came toward the end of a weekend full of activities, including fundraising challenges and community-building activities. Organizers called it all the "Garlic Clove Days."