Four people including gunman killed in shooting at California food festival

"THROWING TABLES" TO GET OUT

Evenny Reyes, 13, told the San Jose Mercury News that at first she thought the gunfire was fireworks but then saw someone with a wounded leg.

"We were just leaving and we saw a guy with a bandana wrapped around his leg because he got shot," Reyes told the newspaper. "There was a little kid hurt on the ground. People were throwing tables and cutting fences to get out."

Another witness, Maximo Rocha, a volunteer with the Gilroy Browns youth football team, said he saw many people on the ground, but could not be sure how many were shot.

He told NBC Bay Area that "quite a few" were injured, "because I helped a few."

One video posted on Twitter showed a blood-spattered woman sitting in the back of a semi-trailer and telling a man she had been shot in the hand.

Stage hand Shawn Viaggi told the Mercury News he heard gunshots and saw bullets hitting the ground. "I called out, 'It's a real gun, let's get out of here,' and we hid under the stage," Viaggi told the newspaper, adding that he saw police officers trying to resuscitate one man.

Founded in 1979, the Gilroy Garlic Festival is an annual event run by volunteers and held outdoors at Christmas Hill Park.

Weapons of any kind are prohibited, according to the event's website, which also said anyone wearing clothing or paraphernalia indicating membership in a gang, including a motorcycle club, would be refused entry.

Festival officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Reuters