Report: California shooter honored relative named for Islamic figure

(Image courtesy Pixabay)

The 19-year-old California man suspected of shooting up the Gilroy Garlic festival, killing two children and a 20-something man, apparently hated "Mestizos" and "white tw*ts" but had a heart for a grandfather whose namesake is a key figure in Shia Islam.

Authorities said 6-year-old Stephen Luciano Romero of San Jose, a 13-year-old girl and young man were killed at the festival Sunday about 80 miles southeast of San Francisco.

The gunman, now dead, was identified as Santino William Legan.

Another 15 people were injured, several with significant wounds.

The Gateway Pundit quoted from his now-removed Instagram account, which railed against "hordes of mestizos" and "Silicon Valley white twats."

The same post "also promoted Might is Right, a century-old book that makes the case for social Darwinist ethics and extreme sexism and racism. The book is seen by many as a philosophical pathway to fascism," the report said.

Investigative reporter Laura Loomer's said Legan described himself as Iranian American.

He shared just three photos on his Instagram account. One depicted Ali Asghar Vahabzadeh, Legan's maternal grandfather.

An Iranian source told LauraLoomer.us that anybody who idolizes Ali Asghar – Legan's grandfather's namesake – would view themselves as a Shia zealot to Islam.

An Iranian website explains Ali Asghar was an infant descended from Muhammad who was brought to a confrontation between armies when one side was pleading for water.

The site says: "Imam Hussain [as] sought mercy purposely. It has been narrated correctly that he said, 'even if you don't have mercy towards me, have mercy towards this little baby.' A father would do so for his little baby at a time of distress. Hussain Ibn Ali's (as) fatherly instincts allowed him to ask the enemy for water in order to save the life of this little infant. At that moment Hussain Iban Ali (as) – probably in agony, gloom, and distress – raised the baby in his hands and was talking to the enemy when he felt something strange! He noticed his baby, who was dropping and still, due to thirst and hunger, could no longer hold his head, his head hung to one side. Suddenly he started floundering in his father's hands. Imam Hussain (as) looked at him; he saw the enemy's arrow had stricken the baby in the throat…"

CBS News reported Cheryl Low and Candice Marquez, working at a vendor's booth, said the gunman had a rifle and did not appear to be targeting specific people.

"Just anybody. He was going back and forth," Marquez said in the report.

"It was random," added Low. "He shot one shot, then he put the clip in, and he just started moving shooting back and forth, walking towards our tent because that's where most of the people were in that area, and he started just shooting."

On the festival stage at the time was the band Tin Man. Singer Jack van Breen said he saw a "man wearing a green shirt and grayish handkerchief around his neck fire into the food area with what appeared to be an assault rifle," CBS said.

He said he heard someone shout, "Why are you doing this?"

The attacker responded, "Because I'm really angry."

The San Francisco CBS affiliate reported police Chief Scot Smithee said the attacker avoided security by using a tool to cut through a fence near a parking area.

The DailyMail.com reported the shooter quoted a white supremacist book on Instagram moments before opening fire.

"The hateful final Instagram posts of the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooter complained about mixed race people, Silicon Valley and promoted a controversial anarchist book that is beloved by white supremacists moments before the shooting on Sunday," the report said.

The report also noted the book "Might is Right" was so inflammatory it was banned for years.

Police said they were looking for a possible second suspect.