Thursday, 28 Mar 2024

F.B.I. Opens Domestic Terrorism Investigation Into Gilroy Shooting

The F.B.I. has opened a domestic terrorism investigation into the Gilroy, Calif., shooting after discovering that the gunman who killed three people and injured 13 had a “target list” of religious institutions, federal buildings and Democratic and Republican political organizations.

John F. Bennett, the special agent in charge of the F.B.I.’s San Francisco office, said at a news conference on Tuesday that the suspect had a “fractured ideology” and had been exploring several “competing” violent ideologies.

Investigators have not uncovered a motive and are trying to determine which beliefs, if any, the gunman had ultimately subscribed to. They also are continuing to scrub various electronic devices and trying to learn if he had any help carrying out the shooting.

Investigators did not identify the targets on the list. They included courthouses and the garlic festival, Mr. Bennett said, and all of the organizations operated nationally. The list did not include any people, and the police have not recovered any manifesto.

The F.B.I.’s announcement came two days after its office in El Paso opened a domestic terrorism investigation into the gunman who killed 22 people at a Walmart. And later on Tuesday, the F.B.I. said it had uncovered evidence that the gunman who killed nine people, including his sister, in Dayton, Ohio, had been exploring “violent ideologies.”

While a federal statute defines domestic terrorism, it carries no penalties for people the government considers domestic terrorists, who are usually prosecuted under gun, hate crime and conspiracy laws.

The gunman in Gilroy wore a bullet-resistant vest as he used an AK-47-style rifle and fired 39 rounds at attendees of the annual garlic festival on July 28, Chief Scot Smithee of the Gilroy Police Department said on Tuesday. Officers found a 75-round drum magazine and five 40-round magazines near the gunman, who was 19 and who killed himself after being shot multiple times by the police, Chief Smithee said. Officers also found a shotgun in the gunman’s car and a backpack in a nearby creek with two more 40-round magazines.

The gunman’s parents said on Tuesday that they were “deeply shocked and horrified” by what their son had done.

“We have never and would never condone the hateful thoughts and ideologies that led to this event, and it is impossible to reconcile this with the son we thought we knew,” the parents said in a statement released by their lawyer.

The parents apologized to each of the victims who had died — Stephen Romero, 6; Keyla Salazar, 13; and Trevor Irby, 25 — as well as those who were injured. The parents said they were cooperating with the investigation.

“We are heartbroken that he committed this violence in his hometown, at a family event meant to celebrate the tight-knit community we have been a part of for twenty years,” they wrote.

Their lawyer, Chuck Smith, said in an interview that the parents were anxious to learn more about what led their son to open fire at the annual festival, which has been described as the city’s “crown jewel.”

“They want answers, too,” Mr. Smith said of the parents.

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