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Multiple victims as shooter opens fire at US food festival

Videos of the shooting on social media showed festival attendees scattering

Police stand guard outside Gilroy High School following a deadly shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California | AFP

Three people died when a shooter opened fire at a food festival in California.

"The hearts of Gilroy PD and entire community go out to the victims of today's shooting at the Garlic Festival," the local police department tweeted. According to a media report, there were at least five victims of the shooting. The annual Gilroy Garlic festival is one of the largest food festivals in the country. It is held about 30 miles southeast of San Jose. Founded in 1979, the festival features food, drink, live entertainment and cooking competitions.

"I could see him shooting in just every direction. He wasn't aiming at anyone specifically. It was just left to right, right to left," Contreras, a witness said.

"Grateful to first responders who are on the scene in Gilroy and keeping those injured by such senseless violence in my thoughts," Senator Kamala Harris, who is running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, wrote on Twitter.

Videos of the shooting on social media showed festival attendees scattering in confusion.

In another inciden at the other end of the country in Brooklyn New York, 12 people were shot as a man opened fire at a park after the closing of a festival. One person died, while another person is critical and the others injured.

Shootings are a frequent occurrence in the United States. However, efforts to address it legislatively have long been largely deadlocked at the federal level.