GILROY, CA — Frozen treat vendor Doug Mahrer may never be the same after witnessing a cold, hard world that unfolded steps away from him during Sunday’s mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival.
The Truckee man’s heart was broken knowing the losses of life and limb were great in the usual special celebration in this quiet town of 58,000 people. Now comes yet another harsh reality of the overwhelming tragedy. The losses in dollars are anticipated to be “in the thousands” from rotting produce and melted ice cream used for his frozen kabobs. He stocked up more than he needed for the event, and the power was cut in the thick of the incident, manhunt and subsequent investigation.
Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee told media Tuesday night the investigation should last another four days, but some vendors have been allowed back in on the other side of the grounds closer to the historic Miller Red Barn, a landmark this close-knit community is working to save.
The fun-filled Garlic Festival raises $11.7 million for local nonprofit organizations.
This tragedy wounds in yet another way. There’s also the huge loss of innocence every community feels after one of these mass casualty incidents mars yet another event.
Mahrer’s voice cracked as he recalled with Patch how the surreal incident left him scarred and running for his life in a flurry from his vendor cargo trailer parked in the area near the Vineyard Stage on the massive ground’s north side. This was ground zero for where a 19-year-old suspected local gunman opened fire on a crowd, killing three others before police officers moved in to fatally shoot him on the scene.
The annual event staged at Christmas Hill Park attracts more than 80,000 people. So when the hundreds scattered to run for their lives, Mahrer stopped packing up in the remaining minutes of the three-day festival and jumped into his trailer. Others joined him in a desperate maneuver to survive.
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“I thought I heard firecrackers, but people were screaming. Then, the people came into my cargo trailer, and we hunkered down,” he told Patch.
The silence between what has been considered a reload was deafening.
“It seemed to stop a minute, then started up again. But then, I heard separate gunfire,” he said. His belief is those were police bullets that shot Santino William Legan of Gilroy.
Mahrer looked down and saw his coworker laying down and hiding under a table. He cracked the door open, grabbed her, who in turn, brought in another person.
“I saw someone running with a baby in their arms,” he said. The scene was unreal.
Mahrer said he was surprisingly calm while using his place of business as a refuge to save lives.
“I was more worried about everyone else,” he said.
In a moment of panic, many people react mechanically and methodically. Afterward, emotional stress will set in after the shock of surviving such an ordeal.
The gravity of the situation hit him the next day.
“I called my mom and my girlfriend and teared up. I guess it occurred to me (later) what was going on,” he said.
Mahrer appeared to struggle with such a concern over his rig, belongings and business stock when others lost far more. He took off with little cash grabbed from the register but without his backpack, cash, wallet and clothes like many who went fleeing into the night, leaving behind bicycles, vehicles, purses and other belongings.
He’s eager to pick up his belongings to have some assemblance of normality.
Police officers are allowing vendors and volunteers to retrieve vehicles left behind at the grounds, which were evacuated after the 5:40 p.m. shooting.
According to police, the vehicle owners will be shuttled via a law enforcement escort to the volunteer lot at West Tenth Street and Uvas Parkway, along with the Parkside Lot south of Miller Avenue, according to Bay City News.
Vehicle owners are once again asked to meet at Antonio Del Buono Elementary School at 9300 Wren Ave. starting at 9 a.m. A driver’s license, proof of registration and insurance are required to claim vehicles.
Officers are keeping the grounds cordoned off.
Taking a toll
The shooting claimed the lives of 6-year-old Stephen Romero, 13-year-old Keyla Salazar of San Jose and 25-year-old Trevor Irby of New York, who was living in Santa Cruz. Sixteen people were reported as injured and transported to Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto and Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, with a third of these patients remaining in the hospital with conditions ranging from fair to serious.
A candlelight vigil is slated for Thursday at 7 p.m. in downtown Gilroy at Fifth and Monterey streets for community members and loved ones to gather to grieve.
The suspected gunman allegedly cut through a fence and snuck into the festival, according to law enforcement.
The authorities have obtained multiple pieces of evidence through search warrants issued at his home and car in Gilroy on Monday, but officers are still sweeping festival grounds for evidence over the next few days.
Law enforcement indicated the suspected gunman probably acted alone but has not ruled out a second person altogether.
Help is available
Mental health counseling has been extended at Rucker Elementary School in Gilroy located at 325 Santa Clara Ave. from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. to cover the weekend. The weekend counseling hours are offered through 5 p.m.
More information may be obtained by calling The Family Assistance Center at 408-209-8356.
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