SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Five wounded victims of a famous garlic festival in Northern California, the United States, on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against organizers for weak security protection of party-goers that led to a fatal mass shooting late July, local media reported.

The Scarlett Law Group, a personal injury law firm based in San Francisco, acted on behalf of the five wounded residents to bring the lawsuit to Santa Clara County Superior Court, the East Bay Times reported.

The five victims, who were wounded in a mass shooting at the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival this summer, accused the organizers of enforcing "inadequate and outdated security policies" and measures incompatible with modern-day events that may draw tens of thousands of participants.

The shooting killed three festival-goers, including a six-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl, and a man in his 20s, and wounded 14 others. The gunman, identified as 19-year-old Santino William Legan, killed himself as police responded to confront him.

"I was under the impression that all things were safe and under control" at the festival, the newspaper quoted Wendy Towner, one of the five wounded, as saying.

The festival organizers failed to hire adequate security staff, train employees, and work more closely with local and federal law enforcement to make the festival a safe event, according to the lawsuit.

Police authorities have been investigating the case, but they have not determined the motives of the gunman, who sneaked through the low-height, unsupported chain link fence and opened fire at the party revelers. Enditem

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