To view original article click here
KRON4
by: KRON4 Staff
Posted: Updated:
Cassidy had worked for the VTA since at least 2012, according to the public payroll and pension database known as Transparent California. His position from 2012 to 2014 was listed as a mechanic. After that, he was a substation maintainer, the records said.
His ex-wife, Cecilia Nelms, told The Associated Press that Cassidy had a bad temper and would tell her that he wanted to kill people at work, “but I never believed him, and it never happened. Until now.”
Nelms, teary-eyed and shaken by the news, said her ex-husband would come home wound up and angry about things that happened at work. As he talked about it, “he would get more mad,” she said. “He could dwell on things.”
When Cassidy lost his temper, Nelms said there were times she was scared. He was someone who could physically hurt others, she said.
Nelms said they were married for 10 years – Cassidy filed for divorce in 2005 – and had not been in contact for 13 years. She said he had been treated for depression.
‘The hell is wrong with us?’: Newsom calls for stricter U.S. gun control — (KRON4)
by: Peter Snarr
Posted: Updated:
“And that numbness I think is something we’re all feeling,” Newsom said. “All of us gathered here today, looking at the scene, listening to governors, mayors, chiefs speaking in similar tone and terms, expression of condolences. All the right emotions and perhaps the right words, but it begs the damn question: What the hell is going on in the United States of America? What the hell is wrong with us?”
Newsom continued: “And when are we going to come to grips with this, when are we going to put down our arms, literally and figuratively, our politics, stale rhetoric, finger pointing, all a hand-wringing consternation that produces nothing except more fury and frustration. More scenes like this repeated over and over and over again.”
An employee opened fire Wednesday at a VTA rail yard in San Jose, killing nine people before ending his own life, authorities said.
KRON4 sources have identified the suspect as 57-year-old Sam Cassidy, a VTA worker.
The shooting took place at around 6:30 a.m. The rail yard is located next door to the sheriff’s department and across a freeway from the airport. The facility is a transit control center that stores trains and has a maintenance yard.
A suspicious house fire in San Jose also broke out just before the mass shooting and may be connected, according to San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.
The San Jose Fire Department responded to the 1100 block of Angmar Ct at 6:36 a.m. for a fire. It was a single-family home and the fire was extinguished by 7:30 a.m.
Public records show Sam Cassidy, the man allegedly behind the shooting at the VTA railyard, owned a two-story home where firefighters responded Wednesday morning.
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said there were explosive devices inside the house that was on fire on Angmar Ct.
To view original article click here
San Jose shooter’s ex-wife says he told her he wanted to kill people at work – as police reveal he set timers to burn down his house while he slaughtered nine co-workers with two semi-automatics and 11 magazines — (The Daily Mail)
By LAUREN FRUEN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: 09:40 EST, 27 May 2021 | UPDATED: 19:49 EST, 27 May 2021
‘I never believed him, and it never happened. Until now,’ a tearful Cecilia Nelms said on Wednesday
Her ex husband Samuel Cassidy turned the gun on himself after killing nine of his rail yard co-workers
He used two semi-automatic handguns with 11 magazines. It is unclear if they were legally obtained.
Santa Clara County Sheriff said it appears he set timers to burn his house down to coincide with the shooting
Sheriff Laurie Smith said Cassidy chose his intended targets before carrying out the massacre
Investigators have offered no word on a possible motive but his ex-wife said he used to come home from work resentful and angry over what he perceived as unfair assignments; she said: ‘He could dwell on things’
Chilling footage shows Cassidy calmly setting off from home carrying a duffel bag which police believe contained the gun used in the attack at the Valley Transportation Authority rail yard in San Jose
Sheriff Smith confirmed Cassidy had two semi-automatic handguns and 11 loaded magazines
Friends and family paid tribute to the nine men, aged between 29 and 63, who were killed in the shooting
The San Jose shooter who gunned down nine of his colleagues at a California rail yard had talked about killing people at work more than a decade ago, his ex-wife has said.
‘I never believed him, and it never happened. Until now,’ a tearful Cecilia Nelms said on Wednesday following Samuel Cassidy’s 6:30 a.m. rampage at a facility for the Valley Transportation Authority.
Cassidy killed nine of his co-workers, aged between 29 and 63, during the assault which Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said was ‘very deliberate and very fast’, before turning the gun on himself.
Sheriff Smith confirmed Cassidy had two semi-automatic handguns and 11 loaded magazines. The 9 mm handguns he had appear to be legal, Smith said, though his 11 high-capacity magazines — each with 12 rounds — are prohibited in California. Authorities do not yet know how he obtained the weaponry.
Smith told the Today show it appears Cassidy set timers to burn his house down to coincide with opening fire at rail depot. She said: ‘The call came out with the shots fired at 6:34 in the morning and then the fire was reported at 6:37. So he must have had some way to set it or have someone else do it.
‘What we’re operating under now…is that he set some kind of a device to go off at a certain time, probably to coincide with the shooting.’
Sheriff Smith also revealed how Cassidy had picked out his intended victims beforehand and fired 39 shots. She said: ‘It appears to us at this point that he said to one of the people there: “I’m not going to shoot you”. And then he shot other people. So I imagine there was some kind of thought on who he wanted to shoot.’
Employee Kirk Bertolet said: ‘He was targeting certain people. He walked by other people. He let other people live as he gunned down other people.’
The Santa Clara County Office of the Medical Examiner-Coroner identified the victims as Paul Delacruz Megia, 42; Adrian Balleza, 29; Jose Dejesus Hernandez, 35; Timothy Michael Romo, 49; Michael Joseph Rudometkin, 40; Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, 63; Lars Kepler Lane, 63 and Taptejdeep Singh, 36.
Singh is said to have died helping others to escape, his family said. His uncle, Sakhwant Dhillon, said: ‘He told people, ‘be careful, hide.’ He was running around the building to save others’ lives.’
Investigators have offered no immediate word on a possible motive but his ex-wife said he used to come home from work resentful and angry over what he perceived as unfair assignments.
‘He could dwell on things,’ she said. The two were married for about 10 years until a 2005 divorce filing and she hadn’t been in touch with Cassidy for about 13 years, Nelms said.
Cassidy killed nine of his co-workers, aged between 29 and 63, during the assault which Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said was ‘very deliberate and very fast’, before turning the gun on himself
His ex wife Cecilia Nelms said he had talked about killing people at work more than a decade ago
The gunman – identified as Samuel Cassidy, left, – opened fire at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority light rail yard on Wednesday morning. His ex wife Cecilia Nelms, right, said he had talked about killing people at work more than a decade ago
Damage from a fire at the house of the suspect of a shooting is pictured. The blaze was first reported around the same time Samuel Cassidy began shooting, leading to speculation he used a timed device to set his home alight
Damage from a fire at the house of the suspect of a shooting is pictured. The blaze was first reported around the same time Samuel Cassidy began shooting, leading to speculation he used a timed device to set his home alight
Emergency responders respond to a fire at the house of the suspect of a shooting, since named as Samuel Cassidy, 57
Emergency responders respond to a fire at the house of the suspect of a shooting, since named as Samuel Cassidy, 57
Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith confirmed Cassidy had two semi-automatic handguns and 11 loaded magazines. She told the Today show it appears Cassidy set timers to burn his house down to coincide with opening fire at rail depot
Sheriff Smith added: ‘We know that the suspect entered the facility and began shooting. And there were deceased in two separate buildings which we believe he went from building to building.
‘Found in the scene of the shooting, our dogs alerted on probably what is his locker. And in it was materials for bombs, detonator cords, the precursors to an explosive.
‘And I think they also found at least rounds at the house too.’
‘When our deputies went through the door, initially he was still firing rounds. When our deputy saw him, he took his life,’ Smith had earlier told reporters.
The sheriff’s office is next door to the rail yard, which serves the county of more than 1 million people in the heart of the Silicon Valley.
Samuel Cassidy, 57, opened fire shortly before 7am after he calmly set off from his home carrying a duffel bag which police believe contained the gun used in the attack. His home is around ten minutes drive away
Samuel Cassidy, 57, opened fire shortly before 7am after he calmly set off from his home carrying a duffel bag which police believe contained the gun used in the attack. His home is around ten minutes drive away
Chilling footage shows maintenance worker Cassidy calmly setting off from his home carrying a duffel bag which police believe contained the gun used in the attack.
Sources said Cassidy shot virtually everyone on the morning shift, including some he had worked with for years.
It was the 15th mass killing in the nation this year, all of them shootings that have claimed at least four lives each for a total of 86 deaths, according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.
At the White House, President Joe Biden ordered flags to be flown at half-staff and urged Congress to act on legislation to curb gun violence.
‘Every life that is taken by a bullet pierces the soul of our nation. We can, and we must, do more,’ Biden said in a statement.
Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the site and then spoke emotionally about the country’s latest mass killing.
‘There´s a numbness some of us are feeling about this. There´s a sameness to this,’ he said. ‘It begs the damn question of what the hell is going on in the United States of America?’
The shooting took place in two buildings and killed employees who had been bus and light rail operators, mechanics, linemen and an assistant superintendent over the course of their careers. One had worked for the agency since 1999.
Another man wounded in the attack was in critical condition at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, spokesperson Joy Alexiou said.
Singh had worked as a light rail train driver for eight or nine years and had a wife, two small children and many family members, said his cousin, Bagga Singh.
‘We heard that he chose the people to shoot, but I don´t know why they choose him because he has nothing to do with him,’ he said.
Lars Lane, 63, was shot dead by co-worker Cassidy at the rail yard shortly before 7am. Lane was described as a loving ‘husband, brother, father and grandfather’ by relatives
Victim Taptejdeep Singh, 36, was married father of two young children, according to ABC 7
Victim Taptejdeep Singh, 36, was married father of two young children, according to ABC 7
Michael Rudometikin, 40, was also killed in the mass shooting on Wednesday morning
Michael Rudometikin was also killed in the mass shooting at VTA on Wednesday morning was one of the eight people killed by co-worker Samuel Cassidy at the VTA rail yard on Wednesday morning
Paul Delacruz Megia is pictured in a social media photo. The 42-year-old dad was described as a ‘ray of sunshine’
Jose Dejesus Hernande, 35, (left) and Adrian Balleza, 29, (right) were also killed in Wednesday’s rail yard massacre
‘Heroic’ railyard worker told colleagues to hide in an office and then ran through the building to warn others before he was gunned down in a stairwell, family say
Taptejdeep Singh, 36, is said to have died helping others to escape, his family have said.
His uncle, Sakhwant Dhillon, said: ‘He told people, ‘be careful, hide.’ He was running around the building to save others’ lives.’
Singh’s brother, Bagga, added: ‘He put a lady in a control room to hide. He saved her and rushed down the stairway.
‘He should have saved his life, too. We lost a good person.’
Singh had worked as a light rail train driver for eight or nine years and had a wife, two small children and many family members, said his cousin, Bagga Singh.
‘We heard that he chose the people to shoot, but I don´t know why they choose him because he has nothing to do with him,’ he said.
Dhillon added: ‘He was a good person. He helped everybody.’
Singh’s family were pictured devastated at the scene Wednesday evening.
His brother-in-law, P.J. Bath told The Mercury News he came into contact with the shooter in a stairwell: ‘He just happened to be in the way, I guess.’
San Jose City Councilman Raul Peralez said Rudometkin was a close friend.
‘There are no words to describe the heartache we are feeling right now, especially for his family,’ he wrote on Facebook. ‘Eight families are feeling this same sense of loss tonight and our entire community is mourning as well.’
A friend of Paul Delacruz Megia similarly paid tribute on Facebook, describing him ‘as ray of sunshine’.
‘My heart is broken for your kids and family,’ the pal wrote of the 42-year-old dad.
Meanwhile, victim Lars Lane was described as a loving ‘husband, brother, father and grandfather’ by relatives who spoke with FOX 40.
His brother, Edward Lane, told the publication he was devastated by the ‘horrible’ situation.
The shooter had more than one gun, county District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. It wasn’t immediately clear whether he had obtained the guns legally.
In court documents, an ex-girlfriend described Cassidy as volatile and violent, with major mood swings because of bipolar disorder that became worse when he drank heavily.
Several times while he was drunk, Cassidy forced himself on her sexually despite her refusals, pinning her arms with his body weight, the woman alleged in a 2009 sworn statement filed after Cassidy had sought a restraining order against her. The documents were obtained by The San Francisco Chronicle.
Cassidy’s father James Cassidy, 88, answered the phone to DailyMail.com Wednesday and said: ‘I’m sorry, I don’t know what he might have been going through.’
He told The Daily Beast his son ‘seemed completely himself’ before the shooting, adding: ‘He didn’t talk about his job or politics. I just found out he was dead and his house on fire and all that a minute ago.’
Cesar Chavez Quinteros, a friend of Cassidy, told DailyMail.com that Cassidy suffered from depression and was on medication.
‘I know he had some issues with depression and was on meds,’ Quinteros said. ‘Not sure if there were other issues other than some inner demons like many of us have. It’s sad to hear they finally got the best of him.
‘I can only relate his actions today on some sort of mental illness. He was not at all like he will be portrayed in the following days due to today’s events.’
‘I don’t have much to say other than I’m just in complete shock,’ he said. ‘During the time that I knew him I never saw any signs in Sam doing something like this. He was a very nice man to those closer to him, polite and kept to himself. He was very smart, loved reading, especially Stephen King books.’