A graduate of Cupertino High School and Evergreen College, Michael Rudometkin lived in Santa Cruz with his wife, Gloria. He was killed Wednesday morning when authorities say a VTA worker opened fired on his colleagues at the light rail yard on West Younger Ave in San Jose.
The nine people who were killed in a shooting at a California rail yard were remembered by their families, colleagues and friends as loving, kind-hearted and heroic.
• Associated Press • May 27, 2021
This combo of images shows the nine victims of a shooting at a VTA rail yard on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, in San Jose, Calif. Top row, from left, Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, Adrian Balleza, Alex Fritch, Jesus Hernandez III. Bottom row, from left, Lars Lane, Paul Megia, Timothy Romo, Michael Rudometkin and Taptejdeep Singh. (Valley Transportation Authority )
The nine people who were killed in a shooting at a California rail yard were remembered by their families, colleagues and friends as loving, kind-hearted and heroic.
Paul Delacruz Megia enthusiastically embraced challenges in his job at the Valley Transportation Authority, his supervisor said. Taptejdeep Singh led people to safety during the shooting. Adrian Balleza was fun to work with, and Alex Fritch was the rock of his family.
JOSE DEJESUS HERNANDEZ III:
Jose Dejesus Hernandez III, 35, could fix anything, loved his hobbies and lived life with zest, according to his family.
The Dublin, California, resident was a substation maintainer who had been partnered with Samuel Cassidy, the man who authorities say gunned down Hernandez and eight others, said his father, Jose Dejesus Hernandez II, a retired Valley Transportation Authority employee. He said he was not aware of issues Cassidy may have had with his son or others.
“He was somebody who was so fair. A very, very fair person and always leaning to the right side of things, always looking for the right thing to do,” said Hernandez, crying at times in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press. “He was a really good guy, a great kid, and now he’s gone.”