California garlic festival gunman killed himself, coroner says

GILROY, Calif. — The Santa Clara County coroner’s office says the gunman in the deadly Northern California festival shooting killed himself, a finding that contradicts earlier police accounts that officers fired the fatal shot.

Santino William Legan, 19, shot and killed three people — including two children — Sunday at the Gilroy Garlic Festival.

Nicole Lopez, a senior office specialist in the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office, says Friday that Legan’s cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee had previously said Legan was shot and killed by three officers who responded in less than a minute. Smithee has called the officers “heroes” for preventing additional casualties by taking down the shooter.

Gilroy police have scheduled a news conference for Friday afternoon.