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Last month, Steven Romero celebrated his sixth birthday at Legoland in California. On Sunday afternoon, he was shot and killed at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Northern California.
“There’s nothing I really can do besides try to be with him until I can put him in his resting spot, wherever that is,” his father Alberto Romero told NBC Bay Area.
“My son had his whole life to live and he was only six. That’s all I can say.”
Romero was at home with his 9-year-old daughter when he found out about the shooting. Steven had gone to the festival with his mother and grandmother, who were also injured in the shooting.
Romero said that Steven’s mother had been shot in the hand twice, and he believes the grandmother shot in the leg.
In total, three people were killed and 15 injured in the shooting, authorities said.
Police also shot and killed a suspect who was carrying an assault-type rifle, according to a statement by the City of Gilroy. Police believe a second person may have been involved. The shooter entered the packed festival by cutting through a fence, police said. The festival had tight security, including metal detectors.
Gilroy is located around 30 miles south of San Jose.
“Hopefully they get the shooters,” said Romero.
Just after the shooting, Romero posted a photo of Steven at Legoland, asking for people to come forward with information about the shooting. His account is now private.
He described his son as an energetic boy who had just graduated from kindergarten and was just weeks away from entering first grade.
He was “always happy and always wanting to have fun,” Romero said, as he showed off photos of his son.