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'We Are Gilroy Strong': Community Vigil Honors Victims of Garlic Festival Shooting

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People attend a vigil for victims of the mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival on July 29, 2019, in Gilroy, California. Three people were killed and at least a dozen wounded on July 28 before police officers shot and killed the suspect.  (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Hundreds in Gilroy gathered Monday night for a vigil to honor victims of the deadly Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting.

People prayed and chanted as they stood around a grassy lawn in front of City Hall, “We are, Gilroy strong, we are, Gilroy strong.”

A sign saying the same, underneath an American flag covered in two garlic cloves, hung from the front of the stage.

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"We cannot let the bastard that did this tear us down," Mayor Roland Velasco declared to cheers.

Speakers at the vigil included Jason Smith, a sergeant with the Gilroy Police Department, who responded to the shooting. The crowd applauded loudly as he took the stage.

“We are so proud to serve this community, and we're going to continue to serve this community because we love you guys. We love you guys,” said Smith.

Gilroy resident David Almeida coordinated the vigil.

“We've got a great community here. The city as a whole, especially for how big it's getting ... it’s still pretty close-knit,” Almeida said.

Gilroy artist Ignacio Moya holds a banner he made for a candlelight vigil in the plaza outside Gilroy City Hall on July 29, 2019. (Peter Arcuni/KQED)

The Garlic Festival is a family-friendly event and an annual celebration for the area. A 19-year-old man opened fire on the crowd on the third and final day of the festival, killing three people and injuring 12 others, before police fatally shot him.

As people ran out, festivalgoer Kaycee Waters said she was really concerned about the children who got separated from their parents.

“It broke my heart, seeing these kids that, you know, like they didn't know where some of their family members were. They didn't know what was happening,” Waters said.

Justin Bates, a 24-year-old Gilroy native, was also at the vigil. He said he saw the gunman appear out of nowhere from the fence line and start shooting.

"I’m blessed to be alive right now. … I went to the doctors, they checked me out and said I got grazed by five to seven different bullets," Bates said. "I just felt heat, just a lot of heat on my legs, and at that point I was pretty sure that I was hit. And I just knew that I needed to get out of there if I wanted to save my life.

Bates ran to safety up a nearby hill, but couldn’t find his best friends.

"I ended up running back into the festival," he said. "I wasn’t leaving them behind."

Upward of 1,000 candles were donated for a vigil outside Gilroy City Hall on July 29, 2019, according to event organizer David Almeida. (Peter Arcuni/KQED News)

Bates was released Sunday night from the hospital on crutches and still had shrapnel in his leg, but he said it was important for him to attend the vigil.

"I’m still so in shock about everything that happened, but I’m proud of the community and how everyone’s coming together, and just being Gilroy strong," he said.

Vigil attendees held up candles in paper cups. The ceremony wrapped up with a moment of silence for those who were killed, Stephen Romero, 6, Keyla Salazar, 13, and Trevor Irby, who was in his 20s.

The youngest victim, Stephen, described by his grandmother as a kind, happy and playful kid, had just celebrated his sixth birthday in June at Legoland in Southern California.

Also killed was Keyla Salazar from San Jose. The teen was eating ice cream with family members when they heard gunshots and began to flee, said her aunt, Katiuska Vargas.

The teen stayed back to keep pace with a relative who uses a cane and was shot with a bullet that otherwise might have hit that woman, Vargas said.

Hundreds of people gathered in front of Gilroy City Hall Monday to honor the victims in the shooting at the Garlic Festival. (Erika Mahoney/KAZU)

Vargas said Keyla's stepfather was wounded as he went back for her.

Keyla loved animals and was planning on getting a puppy for one of her two younger sisters, Vargas said.

"She was such a caring person," Vargas said. "She would give everything to other people. ... We lost a really beautiful life."

The oldest victim killed was Irby, a biology major who graduated in 2017 from Keuka College in upstate New York.

Another remembrance is planned for Thursday night in downtown Gilroy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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