Gilroy Considers Return Of Garlic Festival 5 Years After Mass Shooting

CBS Bay Area

July 29, 2024

GILROY -- Exactly five years ago Sunday, the happy tradition of the Gilroy Garlic Festival was shattered when a lone gunman arrived and began firing into the crowd. The event has never returned and the town has felt its loss. Now, there is talk about bringing the festival back.

On Sunday, there was a crowd at Christmas Hill Park in Gilroy but they came for a soccer tournament not for the garlic. The last weekend in July was the normal time for the garlic festival but that all came crashing down in 2019 when a 19-year-old gunman began shooting at people with an assault-style rifle. The sheer randomness of the attack was shocking and, though police killed the shooter within about a minute's time, three people died and 17 others were wounded.

In the years since, the community has suffered from the loss of the festival.

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