Youngest Victim Of Gilroy Garlic Festival Shooting Laid To Rest

SAN JOSE (AP/CBS SF) -- The youngest victim of the Gilroy Garlic Festival mass shooting has been laid to rest.

About 300 friends and family of 6-year-old Stephen Romero remembered the boy Monday as a happy and outgoing kid who loved to dress up as Batman, read comic books and listen to The Weeknd.

A small, open white casket was placed at the front of a San Jose auditorium and flanked by enlarged photos of the boy with a quick smile and wreaths of flowers, including one with a Batman logo.

The boy was later buried at a San Jose cemetery.

It was the last memorial service for the three people killed when a gunman opened fire on July 28 at the popular, annual festival.

Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo attended the funeral and afterwards tweeted, "The most difficult thing I've experienced in all my yrs (sic) in politics is attending the funerals of young children killed in a mass shooting. Today, we said goodbye to little 6-yr old, #StephenRomero."

In a July 29 interview with KPIX at Romero's San Jose home, relatives and neighbors talked about the tragic shooting, that killed three others and wounded 13 others.

Stephen, his mom and his grandmother were all hit by gunfire. His mother, Barbara Aguirre was shot in the hand and underwent surgery to reattach her fingers. His grandmother also survived her wounds.

"They tried to help him, but he didn't make it. He was really good kid. He just turned six in June," said his uncle, Noe Romero.

"I think it's a tragedy, he was a six year old vibrant little kid who all the neighborhood loved. He wasn't doing anything to nobody. It's just senseless what happened," said neighbor Mario Ramos

© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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