The Santa Clara County District Attorney said Friday he believes the VTA mass shooter could have been stopped if the feds shared with local authorities information about a 2016 detention.
The Wall Street Journal obtained a memo from the Department of Homeland Security showing in 2016, upon returning from the Philippines, mass shooter Samuel Cassidy was detained by agents and they found books about terrorism, manifestos and notes about how he hated the VTA.
“If the Department of Homeland Security or Customs and Border Protection had shared some information with local law enforcement it would have led to certainly an intervention.” Santa Clara County DA Jeff Rosen said.
He requested information about the interaction and expects information soon. Rosen wants to know why the information wasn’t shared.
“Going forward if you come similar information on another individual, will you now share that with local law enforcement?” he asked.
Rosen also encouraged the public to do its part in preventing future mass shootings. An intervention can be a simple referral or could lead to a gun violence restraining order.
“We want to try to encourage people that if they see something, to say something, “ he said.
Rosen noted that Red Flag Laws has been used more than 300 times in Santa Clara county to remove guns from people more times than all other Bay Area counties combined.
“I’m absolutely confident that doing so has saved countless lives in our county and prevented many mass shootings,” he said.