California

3 Dead in Shooting at Ford Dealership in Morgan Hill: Police

Police sources told NBC Bay Area the shooter is believed to be a disgruntled employee or former employee

A gunman killed two workers and then himself late Tuesday at a Ford dealership in Morgan Hill, California, according to police.

The shooting occurred about 6:05 p.m. at the dealership on Condit Road near Dunne Avenue.

Police on Wednesday identified the shooter as Steven Leet, 60, an employee at the dealership. The victims were identified as Leet's co-workers, Brian Light, 59, and Xavier Souto, 38. They were believed to be supervisors.

MH-souto-light-0626
Morgan Hill PD
Xavier Souto and Brian Light

When officers arrived at the scene, they found Leet down on ground with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound and a handgun in his hand, police said. The other two men were found dead inside.

"(The officers) were directed by other employees inside the building, where two additional males were located and later pronounced dead," Morgan Hill police Sgt. Bill Norman said.

Since Tuesday's triple-fatal shooting at a Morgan Hill Ford store, investigators have swarmed the San Jose home of gunman Steven Leet, and neighbors are recalling all their recent interactions with him. Marianne Favro reports.

Leet had been fired earlier Tuesday, police said.

"I just heard pop, pop, pop, pop," said Doug MacGlashan, who was inside the building at the time of the gunfire. "When we heard gunshots, at that point, we just ran."

MacGlashan, a contractor, told NBC Bay Area he had been talking with one of the victims moments before the shooting. 

"He said 'I just fired him, he won't leave the premises. Should I be worried, what should I do?'" MacGlashan said. "So they were wondering should they call authorities. At that point, somebody asked, 'Should we be worried?' Somebody said, 'Yeah he's got a history with guns.' Not 10 minutes later, we heard gunshots.

"He got shot, and I just spent the whole day with him," MacGlashan said. "Great guy. Very, very sad."

Morgan Hill police and Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies responded to the scene, and polce remained at the scene overnight for the investigation.

Light and Soato both were family men.

The Ford Store Morgan Hill shared a GoFundMe donation page at Wednesday with a $500,000 goal to support the victims' families. About 170 people had raised nearly $22,000 as of late Wednesday night. As of Wednesday afternoon, the dealership was closed.

Bay City News contributed to this report.

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