Aug. 3 (UPI) — The man who opened fire at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California killed himself with a self-inflicted gunshot, the Santa Clara Coroner’s Office said Friday.
An autopsy of Santino William Legan revealed he died from a shot to the head after killing three people and injuring 16 others Sunday.
Gilroy police Chief Scot Smithee said Nicole Lopez of the coroner’s office ruled Legan’s death a suicide.
“I do know that the suspect was hit multiple times by the rounds the officers fired, which put him down,” Smithee said during a news conference. “It appears now, with that ruling on the cause and manner of death, that once he was down, he was able to get a round off and he shot himself. It sounds like that round was to the head.”
Smithee said earlier in the week that officers responded within a minute of receiving reports about the shooting at the festival and put a stop to the attack. He said Legan also fired at officers.
“In my mind, it changes nothing,” Smithee said. “The officers still got there fast … they eliminated the threat. Whether he fired that final shot, in my mind, changes nothing.”
Police identified the dead as 6-year-old Stephen Romero, 13-year-old Keyla Salazar and 25-year-old Trevor Irby.
