A public transit worker shot and killed ten people, including himself, Wednesday morning at the San Jose Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light rail yard in the area of Younger avenue and San Pedro street, Santa Clara County officials said.
San Jose Police Department (SJPD) officers responded to multiple 911 calls from the rail yard around 6:30 a.m. and arrived within minutes. SJPD officers found one victim suffering from life-threatening injuries and nine people dead, including the gunman who was preliminarily determined to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a Wednesday Santa Clara County sheriff’s department news release.
The victim who was found alive was rushed to a local trauma center where they succumbed to their injuries and died, according to a Thursday Santa Clara County sheriff’s department news release.
Deputy Russel Davis, a spokesperson for the Santa Clara County Sheriff's office, said in a Wednesday news conference the open fire began as members of the VTA union were in a morning meeting.
The gunman was identified by the Santa Clara County Sheriff's office as 57-year-old Samuel Cassidy, a VTA maintenance worker.
Officials are investigating a fire that broke out at Cassidy’s home in San Jose on the same day.
Officials said in the news release it’s believed the suspect coordinated the destruction of his residence.
Multiple cans of gasoline, suspected Molotov Cocktails, 12 firearms and about 22,000 rounds of ammunition were found in Cassidy’s home, according to the same news release.
The release also included that detectives discovered three semi-automatic handguns at the crime scene.
Nicole Baranchuck, a San Jose State business senior, said she regularly used the VTA services before the coronavirus pandemic began and the shooting was tragic to her.
“Hearing the news was really heartbreaking. I remember riding the light-rail and being really grateful for all the employees that helped me when I needed it,” Baranchuck said in a text message. “I feel like San Jose is a fairly safe area, but hearing about events like this reminds me that no place is entirely safe from horrifying acts.”
The nine victims' identities were released at 7:34 p.m. on Wednesday, more than 12 hours after the shooting, according to a Wednesday San Francisco Chronicle article.
The Santa Clara County Coroner’s office identified the victims in a statement as: Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, 63; Adrian Balleza, 29; Alex Ward Fritch, 49; Jose Dejesus Hernandez III, 35; Lars Kepler Lane, 63; Paul Delacruz Megia, 42; Timothy Michael Romo, 49; Michael Joseph Rudometkin, 40; and Taptejdeep Singh, 36. All of the victims were VTA employees.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom arrived at the VTA facility Wednesday afternoon and spent time with the families of those impacted by the shooting with San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, according to a Wednesday NBC Bay Area article.
Newsom said there’s a “sameness” and “numbness” as gun violence continues to occur in the U.S.
"What the hell's going on in the United States of America? What the hell's wrong with us?,” Newsom said in a Wednesday news conference. “And when are we going to come to grips with this? When are we going to put down our arms, literally and figuratively?"
Wednesday’s City Hall Vigil
Hours after the deadly VTA light rail yard shooting, advocacy group Human Empowerment Radical Optimism (HERO) Tent organized an evening vigil to honor the victims.
The 6 p.m. vigil was held in front of San Jose City Hall where Bay Area community members and fellow VTA employees laid out bouquets of flowers.
Jonathon Hernandez, a VTA operator who drives buses, said it’s especially challenging when fellow coworkers pass and he’s hoping the community will keep the victims in their thoughts.
Hernandez was among approximately 15 VTA employees and community members who gathered to pay their respects.
As several VTA buses passed by the vigil, Richard Martinez, a VTA operator, waved at his colleagues and said “those are my union brothers and sisters.”
Martinez, who has been working for the company for more than 12 years, said initially he couldn’t believe the news and that the gunman was a fellow employee.
“For him to just walk in and just start to spray people [with bullets], from what I was told . . . I didn't want to believe it. I heard that and the chills started to spike,” Martinez said. “The fact that [the victims] could have been somebody's wife, dad or [co-worker], it was just nerve racking.”
The vigil ended around 7 p.m. and several of the attendees encouraged the community to attend Thursday’s vigil.
Thursday’s City Hall Vigil
A day after the shooting, more than 1,000 community members gathered at San Jose City Hall on Thursday at 6 p.m. to honor the lives of the VTA employees who were killed by a coworker, Samuel Cassidy.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, VTA employees and city council members were among the various keynote speakers at the vigil.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, representing the 19th District of California, said it is painful to see San Jose joining multiple communities in the U.S. as a mass shooting site.The 19th District of California includes areas of Santa Clara County such as San Jose and Morgan Hill, according to Lofgren’s website.
“The VTA yard will forever be etched in our memories as a site of tragedy,” Lofgren said during the vigil. “The VTA literally connects our community. Yesterday, that connection was shaken to its core.”
Victims’ family members also spoke at the vigil, including Karman Singh, the brother of Taptejdeep Singh.
Karman Singh said multiple VTA employees reached out to him after the shooting to tell him his brother spent his final moments protecting his colleagues.
He said Taptejdeep Singh helped other employees hide from the shooter and run to safety.
“Hearing those stories brings back the memories of the brother I knew,” Karman Singh said during the vigil. “The brother that died fighting for others, trying to save his community, his VTA community.”
A vigil attendee, who prefers to remain anonymous for privacy concerns, said they were told several employees battled for their lives and protected other people during the shooting.
“[The victims] didn’t run away from death, they ran [toward] it,” the vigil attendee said. “They are heroes.”
California Sen. Dave Cortese of Senate District 15, which includes cities in the east bay, emphasized the need to end gun violence.
“[The victims] shouldn't have [had] to worry about somebody who was so unstable that they should not [have been] in possession of a firearm in the first place,” Cortese said during the vigil. “We have to do something about it.”
Jessica Blitchok, a San Jose resident and chapter leader of the grassroots organization Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, said although California has strict gun laws, surrounding states need to better-regulate firearms.
“What we really need is unified laws throughout our country and the first thing that people can do is really get behind the bipartisan federal background check law,” Blitchok said.
She said every mass shooting is concerning, but Wednesday’s shooting hit home.
“It's even more upsetting when it's happening in your own backyard,” Blitchok said.
Several vigil speakers encouraged community members to donate to a VTA Solidarity Fund by Working Partnerships USA’s Community Resources program to support the victim’s families.
The Working Partnerships USA’s Community Resources Program is a Silicon Valley-based grassroots organization that focuses on public policy changes for an equitable economy.
The Santa Clara County twitter page also encouraged those who’ve been experiencing a crisis following the VTA light rail yard shooting to call a 24/7 hotline at 1-855-278-4204.
“We’ve seen incredible signs of support from all the members of our community and labor unions supporting our workers in the city and throughout the region,” Sam Liccardo said.
