A Valley Transit Authority employee who was in one of the buildings during the mass shooting at the Guadalupe Light Rail Yard in San Jose last May has died, the agency confirmed on Tuesday.
The veteran employee was identified as Henry Gonzales, a paint and body worker at the rail yard.
The agency confirmed Tuesday afternoon that Gonzales died by suicide, following a KNTV report and Amalgamated Transit Union press release saying he had.
The cause of death is under investigation by San Jose police.
On May 26, a gunman killed nine people and himself at the VTA light rail yard in what's believed to be the Bay Area’s worst mass shooting in 30 years. The agency initially requested privacy and extended its "deepest sympathies" to the Gonzales family on Tuesday morning.
ATU President John Costa on Tuesday released a statement on Gonzales' death, scrutinizing the VTA's response to the shooting and its lack of attention to the mental health of its employees.
"This tragedy once again underscores the need to make mental health a priority in the workplace. Unfortunately, the VTA has taken no action to address the grief, the mental health, and the safety of their employees who have been under unfathomable, extreme stress after this tragic shooting," Costa said. "The VTA's inaction is shameful and threatens the well-being of our Local 265 members. VTA workers must have immediate access to the full spectrum of mental health services, including in-patient care. They must also have access without having to get through the thicket of bureaucratic hurdles that currently restrict access to needed care."
The agency didn't directly rebut or address Costa's claims on Tuesday afternoon, only going as far to say accusations VTA is focused on "anything less" than its employees' health and well-being "is wholly unfounded."
Since the attack, the agency claimed it "reached out on a daily basis to employees and their families with multiple counseling and trauma resources, encouragement to seek help if needed" and "reminders to lean on co-workers and friends as they navigated a terrible grief process, in addition to open-ended time off to grieve."
"Those who feel they could not return are offered options that do not involve returning to the site of the shooting," VTA said in a statement. "Those returning to work are receiving additional, mandatory trauma recovery counseling."
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