9 People Killed in Mass Shooting at a California Rail Yard

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The shooter reportedly took his own life before police responded to the shooting.

According to the Associated Press, the shooting started around 6:30 am, at a light rail facility for the Valley Transportation Authority. The shooter has been identified as 57-year-old Sam Cassidy, who worked at the rail yard. 

The names of the victims were released on Thursday. Adrian Balleza, 29; Jose DeJesus Hernandez III, 35; Taptejdeep Singh. 36; Michael Joseph Rudometkin, 40; Paul Delacruz Megia, 42; Timothy Michael Romo, 49; Alex Ward Fritch, 49; Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, 63; and Lars Kepler Lane, 63 were all killed in the attack.

One of the victims, Fritch, was initially taken to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in critical condition, but later succumbed to his injuries, the BBC reports.

Police do not have a motive for the attack at this time, though Cassidy’s ex-wife, Cecilia Nelms, told the Associated Press that Cassidy was hot-headed and would at times say he wanted to kill people at work. Nelms said she “never believed him, and it never happened. Until now.”

Nelms, who hadn’t seen Cassidy in 13 years since their 2005 divorce, recalled him getting wound up and “more mad” as he spoke about things that frustrated him at work. “He could dwell on things,” she added.

Following the shooting, President Joe Biden made a statement asserting that we “must do more” to prevent mass shootings and gun violence. He wrote, “We are still awaiting many of the details of this latest mass shooting in San Jose, but there are some things we know for sure. There are at least eight families who will never be whole again. Every life taken by a bullet pierces the soul of our nation. We must do more.”

We are still awaiting many of the details of this latest mass shooting in San Jose, but there are some things we know for sure. There are at least eight families who will never be whole again. Every life taken by a bullet pierces the soul of our nation.

We must do more.

— President Biden (@POTUS) May 26, 2021

During a Wednesday press conference, California Governor Gavin Newsom applauded the police for their heroism while also lamenting the deadly, violent act. “You’re gonna learn over the course of the next couple of days and weeks about the heroism of the San Jose Police who save lives. Deputy Sheriffs that ran … quite literally ran, moments after hearing about this incident without any consideration for their own lives and did an extraordinary job to save other people’s lives,” Newsom said.

“There’s a numbness I imagine some of us are feeling, because there’s a sameness to this. Anywhere, USA. It just feels like this happens over and over and over again. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat,” he added.

“What the h**l’s going on in the United States? What the h**l’s wrong with us? And when are we going to come to grips with this? When are we going to put down our arms, literally and figuratively?”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on San Jose shooting: “There’s a numbness I imagine some of us are feeling, because there’s a sameness to this. Anywhere, USA. It just feels like this happens over and over and over again. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat.” pic.twitter.com/QAiPU9NcC3

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) May 26, 2021

According to KJRH News, there have already been 232 mass shootings in the United States in 2021.

Photo courtesy: Pexels/Kat Wilcox

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Kayla Koslosky has been the Editor of ChristianHeadlines.com since 2018. She has B.A. degrees in English and History and previously wrote for and was the managing editor of the Yellow Jacket newspaper. She has written on her blog since 2012 and has also contributed to IBelieve.com and Crosswalk.com.