Gilroy shooting: Stories of heroic actions and survival as community stands strong together

GILROY, Calif. -- More than a hundred people were at a vigil at El Roble Park. They lit candles, held hands and cried because of what happened just two nights ago.

"Stephen Romero, Keyla Salazar, Trevor Irby-- their lives were cut short Sunday evening. Their families' lives were changed forever."

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A moment of silence for the lives lost in Sunday's shooting at the Garlic Festival.

Those there wore shirts saying "Gilroy Strong"-- because deep down, they're trying to be.

Gilroy resident Nancy Burns said, "It's very hard. It's very hard and I wish no one would ever have to suffer the pain of what a small town shooting like that would feel like. Last place you'd expect it."

Fear was everywhere as bullets flew. Denim Brandel and his son, Daysin saw the suspect shooting. The two could have hidden and waited to be rescued, but they didn't. They helped their friends who had been shot and were bleeding badly.

Brandel said, "I pulled my shirt off and I wrapped it as a tourniquet around his thigh wound. It was bleeding severely."

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Wendy Towner and her husband are now in stable condition but have major injuries. The father and son helped get them to a triage center.

Six-year-old Daysin doesn't like talking about that night very much. But he did say this about the shooter, "That guy was freaking mean. He shot our friends. He shot a kid, he shot another grown up, he shot a lot of kids."

A GoFundMe account has been set up for the Towner family. You can find it here.

Get the latest on the deadly Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting here.
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