Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting being investigated as domestic terrorism by FBI – NBC News

Federal authorities launched Tuesday that they have got got launched a home terrorism investigation into the Gilroy Garlic Competition shooting in Northern California, which left three other folks, at the side of two kids, pointless.

John F. Bennett, special agent in mark with the San Francisco FBI, said at a knowledge conference that the gunman had been “exploring violent ideologies.”

An evaluation of the suspect’s digital media turned up a “target listing,” which integrated non secular groups, each political parties and govt locations.

Bennett said the listing contained names of order churches and courthouses, but did no longer gain names of different folks.

Festivalgoers were attending the city’s popular meals competition on July 28 when police teach Santino William Legan started firing “seriously randomly” on the team.

Stephen Romero, 6; Keyla Salazar, 13; and Trevor Irby, 25, were killed. A dozen varied other folks were injured in the shooting, at the side of Stephen’s mom and grandmother who were on the competition with him.

In maintaining with Bennett, federal authorities would possibly per chance per chance also no longer originate a home terrorism investigation till they chanced on the existence of a seemingly federal violation, unlawful employ of power or violence and “most importantly” the existence of ideological motivation.

“We now have got to search out out that the person’s ideology led to them to commit the act of violence,” he explained.

The FBI Agents Affiliation, or FBIAA, earlier Tuesday called on Congress to create home terrorism a federal crime that will per chance no longer require the establishment of ideology.

“Domestic terrorism is a threat to the American other folks and our democracy,” the association said in an announcement. “Acts of violence intended to intimidate civilian populations or to manual or have an affect on govt policy must be prosecuted as home terrorism irrespective of the ideology in the again of them.”

Making that alternate, the FBIAA says, “would make certain that that FBI Agents and prosecutors have the simplest tools to strive in opposition to home terrorism.”

The shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, on Aug. 3, much less than per week after the Gilroy attack, is moreover being investigated by federal authorities as home terrorism. A gunman killed 22 other folks in the El Paso attack, which investigators are moreover treating as a that you’d think abhor crime.

“Right here’s a home terrorism case,” U.S. Attorney John Bash said Sunday of the El Paso shooting. “This meets it and appears to be like designed to intimidate a civilian population, to squawk the least.”

Scot Smithee, Gilroy’s chief of police, said Tuesday that Legan changed into once carrying a bullet-resistant vest and fired about 39 rounds at some stage in the shooting. He said three cops opened fire, inserting him “extra than one occasions.” The Santa Clara County coroner ruled that Legan died from a self-inflicted gunshot damage.

Authorities chanced on a 75-round drum magazine for the suspect’s rifle, which aloof had 71 rounds left. He moreover had two 40-round magazines and an extra 40-round magazine changed into once chanced on on or approach him, police said.

A shotgun changed into once chanced on in a automobile that belonged to the suspect, Smithee said. A backpack that changed into once chanced on contained two loose rounds for the rifle, a rifle scope, a flashlight, a shovel and extra ammunition.

Authorities said Tuesday they aloof attain no longer have a motive.

“I know nothing that we teach or attain can never lift again your relatives but … everything is being carried out with you in our minds,” Bennett said.

Legan’s family released an announcement on Tuesday, announcing they’re “deeply scared and petrified by the actions of our son.”

“To the households of Stephen Romero, Keyla Salazar, Trevor Irby, and the injured that survived this tragedy, we can no longer originate up to remark our despair at his actions,” the family said in the assertion, given to NBC News.

“We now have got never and would never condone the hateful suggestions and ideologies that led to this match, and it’s no longer seemingly to reconcile this with the son we figuring out we knew. Our son is gone, and we can eternally have unanswered questions as to how or why any of this has took put.”