The gunman, a maintenance worker at a transit agency in Silicon Valley, killed nine of his colleagues years after federal officials uncovered a notebook with his complaints.
The California transit worker who shot dead nine co-workers and himself Wednesday morning was armed with 32 illegal high capacity magazines when he arrived at the Valley Transportation Authority light rail yard in San Jose.
Samuel James Cassidy, 57, fired 39 times at two buildings, starting just after 6:30 a.m., the Mercury News reports. He shot himself as Santa Clara County deputies and San Jose police officers closed in, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
Sheriff’s Deputy Russell Davis said that Cassidy apparently carefully selected his targets, telling at least one person, “I’m not going to shoot you” as he fired.
A statement released by the sheriff’s office on Thursday said that investigators have not determined Cassidy’s motive but have confirmed he was “a highly disgruntled VTA employee for many years, which may have contributed to why he targeted VTA employees.”
Biden calls for flags to be flown at half-staff following San Jose light rail yard shooting
By Catherine Park
San Jose mass shooting: 9th victim dies | NewsNOW from FOX
A mass shooting at a Valley Transportation Authority light rail yard in San Jose on Wednesday morning during a meeting left multiple people injured and 10 people dead - including the shooter, according to authorities and sources. The shooter was employed as a VTA rail technician, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff s Office. The attacker was identified as 57-year-old Sam Cassidy, according to two law enforcement officials. Investigators offered no immediate word on a possible motive.
Disgruntled worker who killed nine appeared to target victims
by
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo stops to view a makeshift memorial for the rail yard shooting victims in front of City Hall in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, May 27, 2021. An employee opened fire Wednesday at a California rail yard, killing eight people before taking his own life as law enforcement rushed in, authorities said, marking the latest attack in a year that has seen a sharp increase in mass killings as the nation emerges from coronavirus restrictions. (Haven Daley/AP)
SAN JOSE, Calif. A gunman who killed nine people at a California rail yard where he worked appeared to target some of the victims, a sheriff told The Associated Press on Thursday, while a Biden administration official said the shooter spoke of hating his workplace when customs officers detained him after a 2016 trip to the Philippines.