Gilroy Garlic Festival shooter killed himself, Santa Clara coroner says

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Three people were shot and killed and as many as 15 others were injured during the July 28 shooting. Nate Chute, USA Today Network

SALINAS, Calif. – The gunman who opened fire on unsuspecting festivalgoers in Gilroy on Sunday killed himself, the Santa Clara Coroner's Office found.

The gunman shot himself in the mouth and died by suicide, a representative of the coroner's office said Friday.

Earlier in the investigation, Gilroy police said they had "engaged" the shooter, Santino William Legan, and it was widely believed that police had shot and killed Legan.

Legan gunned down three others at the festival before he died.

Six-year-old Stephen Romero, 13-year-old Keyla Salazar and 25-year-old Trevor Irby all died as a result of their gunshot wounds at the festival. Sixteen others were wounded, police have said.

What we know: 3 dead, including 2 children, at Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting

According to Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee, officers ran to the area where Legan was shooting at festivalgoers. As they did, he began shooting at them instead of the crowd. They returned fire, and Legan fell to his knees, then the ground.

Smithee did not know at which point Legan used his AK-47-type rifle to shoot himself.

He pushed back on suggestions that the coroner's report contradicted earlier reports by police that officers had stopped Legan.

"I don't think it contradicts anything," Smithee said at a Friday news conference. "Whether he was able to get a shot off into his head after we shot him doesn't change the series of events at the scene. 

"In my mind, it changes nothing. The officers still got there fast ... they eliminated the threat. Whether he fired that final shot, in my mind, changes nothing."

Smithee didn’t have any information as to how many rounds the officers fired or how many hit Legan. He didn't know whether Legan had any drugs or alcohol on him.

The coroner still has more investigation to do, including toxicology reports.

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