President Joe Biden released the following statement following a mass shooting Wednesday morning at the VTA light rail yard in San Jose that left nine people, including the shooter, dead.
"Vice President Harris and I have been briefed on the horrific tragedy that took place this morning in San Jose, where a lone gunman murdered at least eight people and wounded several others at a county rail yard.
We are still awaiting many of the details of this latest mass shooting, but there are some things we know for sure. There are at least eight families who will never be whole again. There are children, parents, and spouses who are waiting to hear whether someone they love is ever going to come home. There are union brothers and sisters – good, honest, hardworking people – who are mourning their own.
I have the solemn duty of yet again of ordering the flag to be lowered at half-staff, just weeks after doing so following the mass shootings at spas in and around Atlanta; in a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado; at a home in Rock Hill, South Carolina; and at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Enough.
Once again, I urge Congress to take immediate action and heed the call of the American people, including the vast majority of gun owners, to help end this epidemic of gun violence in America.
Every life that is taken by a bullet pierces the soul of our nation. We can, and we must, do more.
God bless all those whose lives were lost today, and all those who loved them."
Police ID gunman who killed eight, took own life in San Jose rail yard shooting
An employee at a California light rail facility opened fire at his workplace Wednesday morning — leaving at least eight people dead and “multiple people” injured, officials said.
Samuel Cassidy, 57, attacked San Jose’s VTA Light Rail Facility on West Younger Avenue near the airport around 6:30 a.m. local time before turning the gun on himself when he encountered sheriff deputies, according to the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Office.
“I was running so fast. I just ran for my life,” Rochelle Hawkins, a VTA mechanic who was at the facility during the shooting, told The Mercury News.
“I would hope everyone would just pray for the VTA family. Just pray for us.”
The sheriff’s office received multiple 911 calls early Wednesday morning saying “multiple shots” were fired and when they arrived, the bullets were still flying, Sheriff Laurie Smith told reporters.
“We have some very brave officers and deputies,” Smith said during a press conference as she held back tears.
“This could’ve been a lot worse than what it was,” added Deputy Russell Davis, the public information officer for the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Office.
Police secure the scene of
a mass shooting at a rail yard in San Jose.
Davis confirmed that a total of nine people are dead, including eight victims who worked for VTA and the gunman, but it remains unclear how many people are injured.
“The whole crew is gone, the whole shift is gone,” a VTA worker, who didn’t want to be identified, told the Mercury News.
Enlarge ImageValley Transportation Authority workers wait outside the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Office.Reuters
“It’s horrible.”
The department’s bomb squad later responded to the scene and K9s found a number of “explosive devices” located inside the building, Davis said.
Just moments before the shooting, Cassidy, who worked as a “substation maintainer” for VTA, had set his own home on fire, the Los Angeles Times and NBC News reported.
Multiple fatalities were reported at the rail yard.AP
Multiple weapons and ammunition were found inside Cassidy’s home and the attack appears to be related to a workplace issue and did not involve riders of the transport system, the LA Times said.
Davis said the train yard is not a station for commuters but a maintenance yard and a “control center” for VTA and a hub that stores multiple trains.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo spoke during a news briefing and appeared to be close to tears as he addressed reporters.
“This is a very dark moment for our city,” Liccardo said.
“These are and were essential workers, these VTA employees helped us get through this horrific pandemic. They were showing up everyday to operate light rail and busses to ensure people could still continue to go about their lives amid all of the challenges of the pandemic and they were taking risks with their own lives in doing so.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said earlier in the day he was in “close contact” with local law enforcement and spoke at an afternoon press conference to decry the violence.
“I feel like this happens over and over and over again,” Newsom told reporters.
“It begs the question: What the hell is going on in the United States of America?”
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