SAN JOSE, Calif. â In one of the Bay Areaâs worst mass shootings, a Valley Transportation Authority employee known for nursing grievances and a hot temper opened fire early Wednesday morning at a VTA light rail yard building, killing eight people and wounding others before taking his own life, authorities said.
Rochelle Hawkins, a VTA mechanic, said when she heard shots she dropped her phone.
âI was running so fast, I just ran for my life,â she said. âI would hope everyone would just pray for the VTA family. Just pray for us.â
The gunman was identified by multiple sources as Samuel Cassidy, a 57-year-old VTA maintenance worker. Authorities would not say what might have led to the rampage, what type of weapon was used or whether he obtained it legally.
Federal officials told NBC Bay Area that five different special ATF explosives sniffing dogs worked the scene in and around the VTA maintenance facility.
They added that each dog trained to sniff out a different substance from gunpowder to plastic explosives and other materials.
One of those dogs hit on an object as a possible incendiary device.
That’s when Santa Clara County’s bomb squad sent in a robot to explore the device in the back-parking lot. ATF officials will also assist local law enforcement in tracking the bullets using a system called NIBIN. (National Integrated Ballistic Information Network) It s a way to trace bullet casings and firearms much like a human fingerprint,” said Joshua Jackson ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge.
California Police Search for Motive After Shooter Kills 9 in San Jose
Voice of America
28 May 2021, 04:05 GMT+10
Police are continuing to investigate a gunman who killed nine people at a California light rail maintenance facility Wednesday, before killing himself.
Authorities have identified the shooter as 57-year-old Sam Cassidy, who worked at the Valley Transportation Authority facility in San Jose.
Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said Cassidy took his own life as police closed in on him.
Officials have neither identified a motive for the shooting nor released the type of gun used in the attack.
Cassidy s former wife told The Associated Press he discussed killing fellow employees at the facility more than a decade ago.