The worst mass shooting in the Bay Area in almost 30 years has left the South Bay shaken, leaving many of the same questions mass shootings often do.
"This is not something that happens in other countries," said South Bay Assemblyman Ash Kalra. "It’s so tragic. I spoke with the head of the union…as he was leaving the county building not too long ago. This man had a gun in his face this morning and now here he is trying to console members, and this doesn’t happen in other places."
Kalra was a guest Wednesday on KCBS Radio’s "The State of California."
Wednesday’s mass shooting at the Valley Transit Authority light rail yard was the latest example of a workplace shooting in the United States, following recent incidents in Indianapolis at a FedEx facility and the Asian-owned spa shootings in the Atlanta area.
"We’re seeing it in the workplaces more and more," Kalra explained. "I think especially because of the strain that workers are under. There are mental health issues going on. I think we have to recognize what is happening to the American worker at the same time as we look at what we can do to get guns off the street."
Yet it’s the same time and time again, Kalra said.
"It’s the same question I think we all ask. When children were gunned down at school, we thought, ‘Okay. This is going to be the moment.’ It wasn’t. It wasn’t enough. It’s never enough until it is."
The Wednesday morning shooting also prompted renewed reform calls from Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Joe Biden. Biden has signaled support for House bills that would strengthen background checks. His administration has already taken steps to curb the sale of so-called ghost guns.
"Time and again, we’re seeing almost every day, a mass shooting," Kalra added. "Yet, nationally, because of the stagnant nature of what’s happening in (Washington, D.C.), particularly with Republicans. We have to call it what it is. They’ve refused to allow us to move forward."
Nine people died as a result of the VTA shooting, in addition to the gunman.
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