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Festival shooting witness: "It was random ... he just started shooting"

Calif. shooting witnesses describe "mass chaos"
Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting witnesses describe scene of "mass chaos" 03:10

It was a scene of "mass chaos," witnesses said, when gunfire erupted Sunday at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California. At least four people were killed, including the gunman, and 15 were wounded. A 6-year-old boy was among those killed.

Police say they shot and killed the gunman. They are searching for a possible second suspect.

Cheryl Low and Candice Marquez were working at a vendor's booth at the festival. They told "CBS This Morning" on Monday that their bosses had been shot and are currently in the hospital, where they have both come out of surgery and are in stable condition.

Marquez said, "I saw a guy with a high-powered rifle and he was putting his clip in, and I knew right there. I thought a minute because it looked like he was pulling up a hose and he was trying to put something in it. Then I was like, 'Wait, no, that's a gun. We have to run.'"

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Candice Marquez (left) and Cheryl Low were working at a vendor's booth at the Gilroy Garlic Festival when gunfire erupted on Sunday. CBS News

The gunman did not appear to be specifically targeting people. "No, no. Just anybody. He was going back and forth," said Marquez.

"It was random," said 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."

Police are reportedly looking for a second suspect, but Low and Marquez said they only saw the one gunman.

Low's 10-year-old granddaughter was in the tent with her and her boss' three-year-old son at the time of the shooting. "She actually did see the shooter," said Low. "And she grabbed the little boy and they hid underneath the boxes underneath the table. She seems to be doing OK."

"She's a hero," said Marquez.

The Gilroy Garlic Festival, now in its 41st year, is one of the country's largest food festivals, attracting more than 100,000 visitors every year, and staffed by volunteers who raise millions of dollars for local schools and charities.

"We don't want people to be scared to go to festivals because of a random thing," Marquez said. "We know Gilroy – we've seen people come together and help other people that they didn't know."

"That's exactly what happened today: Everybody came together as a group that was back behind there, trying to save everybody else's life," said Low. "People were running for their lives. It was, like, mass chaos, but organized chaos. Everybody was helping everybody to be safe."

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A look at the shooting scene in Gilroy, Calif., on Sun., July 28, 2019. CBS San Francisco
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