Gunman who killed eight co-workers at California transit facility knew victims well, mayor says
Santa Clara County Sheriff Office Deputy Russell Davis said a gunman opened fire on Wednesday morning at a public transportation rail yard in San Jose, California, killing at least eight coworkers and injuring at least one other person Gone.
Davis said a gunman was killed by an employee of the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). He has been identified as Sam Cassidy, a law enforcement source who has been confirmed by CNN to investigate.
Mayor Sam Likardo told CNN's Jake Topper that the gunman was no stranger to the people he shot.
"It is clear that the victim and all collaborators knew the shooter well," Likardo said.
According to the medical examiner, the victims were aged between 29 and 63.
The medical examiner identified him as 42-year-old Paul Delacruz Megia; Tapatejadeep Singh, 36; Adrian Balleza, 29; Jose DeJesus Hernández III, 35; Timothy Michael Romo, 49; Michael Joseph Rudometkin, 40; Abdolwahab Alghmundan, 63; And Lars Kepler Lane, 63.
Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said the victims worked together and were together in the morning.
Cassidy had spoken angrily about his coworkers in the past and was displeased with his work, his ex-wife told a Northern California news outlet.
"She had two sides," Cecilia Nelms told CNN-affiliated Bay Area News Group outside her home on Wednesday. "He was a great man when he was in a good mood. When he was crazy, he was crazy."
Davis said law enforcement officers did not exchange bullets with the gunman and investigators believe he took his own life.
"I know for sure that when the suspect knew law enforcement was there, he took his own life, our representative was right there at the time," the sheriff said. He said deputies were quickly there because the sheriff's office is next door.
Smith said deputies and San Jose police officers ran into a building as the shooting continued "and I know it saved many lives."
Davis said the condition of one injured person is critical.
He said investigators are investigating the motive of the gunman. Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said he did not know if there could be any red flag about the shooter's intentions.
The shooter had more than one gun, the district attorney said
Officials said police also received information about explosive devices inside the transit building, which were investigated by the bomb squad.
In addition, a house that was set on fire in San Jose at the same time is believed to be the gunman's house, a source close to the investigation told CNN.
Davis said the shooting began just after 6:30 a.m. PT, when several 911 calls reported firing near the VTA Control Center, a hub that stores light rail trains and maintenance yards.
Several law enforcement agencies and fire department personnel responded to the incident using their "active shooter protocol", Davis said.
Law enforcement officers respond to the scene of a shooting at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) facility on Wednesday.
VTA Board President Glenn Hendrix said the shooting happened at the VTA Rail Yard - not the Operations Control Center - at a time when light rail was starting for the day. The yard is where VTA vehicles are maintained and dispatched.
"A terrible tragedy has happened today, and our thoughts and love are with the VTA family, the organization and everything they have gone through," Hendrix said.
The VTA said light rail service was suspended until noon, as the crime scene investigation limited its ability to provide service. VTA is a public transportation service that operates bus and light rail services in the Santa Clara Valley and employs about 2,000 employees.
According to a tally by the Gun Violence Archive, this is the 232nd incident of mass firing in which at least four people have been shot in the US so far this year.
The Bay Area is no stranger to such violence; In July 2019, a 19-year-old gunman opened fire at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, about 30 miles from San Jose, killing three people and injuring more than a dozen.
Gunman was boastful about the job, ex-wife spoke
Cassidy's ex-wife Nelms told the Bay Area News Group that he "often spoke angrily about his co-workers and bosses, and sometimes directed his anger at her."
Reportedly, Nelms said during their wedding that Cassidy was "angry at what she saw as an inappropriate work assignment" and would "moan about her job when she got home."
Nelms, reached by CNN on Facebook, did not answer questions about Cassidy. Subsequent phone calls remained unanswered.
Nelms had been married to Cassidy for nearly 10 years until she filed for divorce in 2005. According to Bay Area News, she has not been in contact with her ex-husband for almost 13 years.
According to the outlet, she said, "She thought that some people get more easy things at work, and they get harder jobs."
The mayor says the fire was reported in the suspect's house
Mayor Likardo said in an interview with KGN-affiliated KGO that the gunman's house was reported to be on fire, although he did not reveal the location.
"Of course the information I have - is that there was a fire in the shooter's house, no one was found inside the house, thank God," said Likardo.
Firefighters responded to a fire at a house in the 1100 block of Angmar Court in San Jose at 6:36 am local time, according to a tweet from the San Jose Fire Department. It was a few minutes after police were called about the shooting at the VTA facility, about 8 miles away.
Emergency responders being investigated in connection with Wednesday's shootout in San Jose leave a house behind.
In a video shot by a neighbor, smoke is seen coming out of a house as firefighters react to the fire. Neighboring Duk Kyun Suh started recording videos during the fire. In this, fire cars are seen reaching the spot.
The fire department said it took firemen about an hour to extinguish the two-alarm fire, causing extensive damage and leaving the building uninhabitable.
When asked about the fire in the house at a media briefing, Smith said that the San Jose Police Department is working on that part of the investigation.
According to San Jose Fire Department spokeswoman Erica Ray, the cause of the fire is still being investigated, but no civilians or firefighters have been injured.
Anxiety, fear in employees and family
Authorities identified the gunman as a VTA employee who is now dead.
Employees and their families expressed concern and fear in comments to CNN soon after the shooting.
Michael Hawkins Sr. gathered at a reunion site to search for his wife, Rochelle Hawkins, a mechanic at the VTA facility. He left her a message from a coworker's phone saying that she was fine but had dropped her phone while running to safety, he said.
He said, "I am here just for my wife and hope that she is fine and everything that is there is fine."
Billy Cantillas, who has worked at the VTA facility for 22 years, said he had just started his shift when a coworker told him that there was a shooter on site, so he left the building. He did not hear or see anything, but he said that he was afraid.
"I'm scared, you know? I'm thinking about the people who got shot. It's terrible," he said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, after meeting with family members of the VTA staff, expressed disappointment at the frequent gun violence in the US and called on politicians to take action.
Newsom said, "Here in the United States we are experiencing something that has not been experienced anywhere else in the world. It has a similarity. And that shock, I think we are all feeling." "But this is the big question: what is going on in the United States? What's wrong with us?"
President Joe Biden called on Congress to take action on gun law reform. He has sent his condolences to the families of the victims.
"There are at least eight families that will never be full again," he said in a written statement.
Biden said, "Children, parents and spouses are waiting to hear if they love someone who is going to come home sometime. Sociable siblings are - good, honest, hardworking people - Who are mourning their own, ”said Biden. .
Law enforcement officials responded to a shootout at a VTA rail yard in San Jose, California on Wednesday.
Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation responded to the scene.
The ATF has brought five sniffing dogs to help in the search for any possible explosives.
Joshua Jackson, assistant special agent in charge of the ATF's San Francisco Field Division, said the agency is also providing investigative resources to locate firearms and ballistic evidence in an effort to link them to other firearms offenses.
Likardo, who also serves on the VTA board, described the shooting as a very dark moment for the city.
"This is a dreadful day for our city, it is a sad day for our VTA family," he said. "We know that many people are deeply feeling this loss of their loved ones and their friends."
The president of Amalgamated Transit Union International, a labor union representing transit workers, said the union is "shocked and deeply saddened" by the mass shootings.
President John A. "Our hearts and prayers are with our sisters, brothers and their families at the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 265," Costa said. "We are working to provide support and assistance to the families of the victims and all those affected by this tragic incident."