GILROY, Calif. ⁠— A shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival rattled families at a popular Northern California event, injured 15 people and killed three Sunday, authorities said.

Police shot and killed one gunman shortly after he began firing a rifle, but a possible second suspect is still at large, Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee said at a press conference.

Witnesses reports indicate a second suspect supported the gunman, Smithee said, adding that police are still investigating and have no identifying information on him. The gunman cut through a fence to get into festival, police said, avoiding metal detectors at entrances.

"It's incredibly sad and disheartening that an event that does so much good for our community has to suffer from a tragedy like this," Smithee said.

What we know:Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting

San Jose resident Angela Escarcega was in line to get garlic bread with her family when shots rang out. She initially thought the gunshots were fireworks because it was near the end of the three-day festival. When she realized what was happening, Escarcega ran from the gunfire with her son in her arms.

Escarcega said her family has been going to the festival for over 10 years, but after meeting up at the reunification center at Gavilan College, they said now they don’t want to go anymore.

“My little one,” she said of her 9-year-old son. “He’s ready to go home.”

Residents nearby the festival remained on lockdown Sunday night, including Roman Faria, who sat down for dinner when he heard crowds running down the street after shots rang out at 5:41 p.m.

"There were tons of people crying," Faria said. "They had scratches from diving and being knocked over. It was intense to see because this is our town."

Gilroy resident Luis Godoy said he took cover with his infant son when he heard the shots. The family, who lives about a mile from the festival, said they waited until they thought it was safe to leave to find an exit.

As they were on their way out, Godoy said they saw several people performing CPR on a man who didn’t “look good.” He also saw a woman bleeding from her head and a teen girl bleeding from her shoulder and arm.

“Thank god we made it out safe and we came home,” said Godoy, who considers visiting the festival an annual tradition.

Police asked the public to stay away from Christmas Hill Park, the site of the festival about 30 miles southeast of San Jose, as they continue to investigate. Authorities are still contacting the families of the injured and deceased, Smithee said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom thanked law enforcement for handling incident. Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were among those at the scene, officials said.

"This is nothing short of horrific," Newsom tweeted. "Tonight, CA stands with the Gilroy community. My office is monitoring the situation closely."

The ongoing investigation slowed freeway traffic with police stationed at entrances and exits south of Gilroy.

More than 80,000 people attended the event featuring food and entertainment last year, according to the festival website.

Lam reported from Los Angeles. Chelcey Adami, Kate Cimini and Eduardo Cuevas report for The Salinas Californian. Contributing: Vandana Ravikumar, USA Today and The Associated Press