The FBI has opened a domestic terrorism investigation into the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting in Gilroy, California, which left three people dead and more than a dozen injured last month, officials announced Tuesday.

John Bennett, the FBI’s agent in charge in San Francisco, said the agency took over the case from the Gilroy Police Department to launch a “full, predicated FBI investigation” after discovering the potential existence of an ideological motive.

“We have not made a final investigative conclusion into the motive of the shooter. However, we have uncovered evidence … that the shooter was exploring violent ideologies,” Bennett said Monday during a news conference.

Bennett said the shooter, 19-year-old Santino William Legan, had a “target list” that included “religious institutions, federal buildings, courthouses, political organizations from both major political parties, and the Gilroy Garlic Festival.”

“We have seen a fractured ideology,” he said. “The shooter appeared to have an interest in varying, competing violent ideologies.”

A spokeswoman for the FBI declined to provide additional details about the groups targeted by the shooter in an effort to “protect their privacy and safety.”

Officials say they believe Santino cut through a fence to gain access to the food festival on July 28 before opening fire on attendees, killing two children ― a 6-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl ― as well as a man in his 20s. 

The shooter, who wore a bullet-resistant vest, fired approximately 39 rounds into the crowd using an AK-47-style rifle during the attack, Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee said Tuesday.

Source: Read Full Article