President Donald Trump has tweeted about Sunday afternoon’s shootings at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, urging all involved to stay “careful and safe.” The tweet, sent out at 8:09 p.m. Pacific time Sunday, reads in it entirety, “Law Enforcement is at the scene of shootings in Gilroy, California. Reports are that shooter has not yet been apprehended. Be careful and safe!”
Police as of 8:30 p.m. Sunday were still on the festival grounds searching for at least one shooter. Police have not have not yet made a formal statement about the number of victims, but in a tweet posted about 7:20 p.m. Sunday, the police department said, “The hearts of Gilroy PD and entire community go out to the victims of today’s shooting at the Garlic Festival.”
Various reports have mentioned as several deaths, and more than a dozen injured, numbers police have yet to confirm.
Police were called shortly after 5:30 p.m. to the festival grounds, and multiple ambulances were dispatched to the scene. Witness videos posted on social media show people appearing to be running for cover. Witnesses on the festival grounds reported hearing gunshots there at about 8 p.m. Agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have gone to the festival scene, joining police officers from Gilroy, San Jose and Morgan Hill, as well as the California Highway Patrol and the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department in tracking down the shooter.