A public transit employee opened fire on co-workers at a San Jose rail yard on Wednesday (May 26) before taking his own life.
According to authorities, Samuel Cassidy, an employee of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), was identified as the gunman. He shot and killed at least eight people early Wednesday morning. Law enforcement told the public to steer clear of the area, which is about 50 miles from downtown San Francisco, at 7:12 a.m. Less than an hour later, the sheriff’s office reported that the gunman was down.
“There are multiple injuries and multiple fatalities in this case,” sheriff’s Deputy Russell Davis told reporters. “The suspect is confirmed deceased.”
A bomb squad is currently at the scene searching for explosives. “We received information that there are explosive devices that are located inside the building,” the deputy said. “With that being said, we activated our bomb squad, which is currently out on scene and trying to determine — pretty much we’re trying to clear out every room and every crevice of that building and ensure that the public safety is rest assured if we open up that building later on in the near future.”
“It’s going to take some time for us just to go in there and render the area safe so we can have investigators going on scene to determine — collect evidence and gather all the information that we can at this point,” Davis added.
The investigation is ongoing and officials have not yet released a possible motive.
“This is a horrific day for our city and it is a tragic day for the VTA family and our heart pains for the families and the co-workers because we know so many are feeling deeply this loss of their loved ones and their friends,” San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said.
The REVOLT team would like to send our thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of the victims.