Eight people were killed in a mass shooting at a Valley Transportation Authority light rail yard in San Jose on Wednesday morning, in addition to the gunman.
It's the worst mass shooting in the Bay Area in nearly 30 years.
Santa Clara County Sheriff's Deputy Russell Davis confirmed the deaths. Several other people have been injured in the shooting and one victim is still in critical condition at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.
San Jose Police said about 40 employees were inside the VTA facility at the time of the shooting. Police have yet to identify any of the victims.
Officials received multiple 911 calls just after 6:30 a.m. reporting shots fired.
Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith added that victims were shot in at least two separate buildings and shots were still being fired when law enforcement arrived. Deputies did not open fire on the gunman and sheriff's officials believe that he died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
"I know for sure that when the suspect knew that law enforcement was there, he took his own life. Our deputies were right there at that time," she said.
The situation at the VTA rail yard was resolved no later than 8 a.m.
Davis confirmed that the suspect was a VTA employee along with several of the victims, however, it's not clear if any non-employees were hurt or killed in the incident.
Multiple sources have identified the shooter as Sam James Cassidy, 57, a VTA technician, though authorities have yet to confirm his identity or discuss a possible motive. Davis said officers initiated a rescue operation as part of their active shooter protocol in order to extract people from the facility.
Bomb materials were also found on the scene but Davis said that they do not present any threat to the public.
"A horrible tragedy has happened today," said Glenn Hendricks, chair of the VTA board, who was visibly shaken as he spoke at a press conference and issued a message to VTA employees. "We're so sorry that this happened. We are there for you."
Hendricks said while the shooting did happen on the rail yard, which spans multiple acres, it did not occur inside of the control center.
Meanwhile, police also suspect that a two-alarm house fire in East San Jose may be connected to Wednesday morning's shooting. The home on Angmar Court, which is only a few minutes away, reportedly belongs to the shooter. He's believed to have set the fire just before driving over to the VTA facility.
Doug Suh, who lives across the street, said he woke up on Wednesday morning to see his neighbor's home on fire. He told KCBS Radio he knew his neighbor as "Sam."
"He’s kind of strange…he never says hi. I always say hi to him and he never says hi back to me, so my wife is kind of scared of him," Suh said.
The home is being treated as a crime scene with a heavy police presence including a bomb squad, sheriff's deputies, fire crews and the FBI all on the scene.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said a close childhood friend of City Councilmember Raul Peralez was among the dead. At an briefing earlier in the day, Peralez had said that a close friend was in the facility at the time and he had not been able to get in touch with him.
"When an incident like this happens here close to home, that affects us so much more deeply because of the individuals we know, we love, we work with are friends and loved ones," Peralez said. "It’s just extremely tragic."
"I feel really bad for those people, for the people that lost their family members," said Michael Hawkins, whose mother Rochelle Hawkins works at the facility and was not injured. "It’s terrible. Things happen, don’t know why it happens and why people do the things that they do."
He said he had just one thing on his mind as he waited to see her.
"Hug her. It’s one of the only things I can do."
"This is a horrific day for our city, and it’s a tragic day for the VTA family and our hearts pain for the VTA families and coworkers," said Liccardo. The mayor pledged to take action and said he will release details before the end of the week of steps he is taking to prevent another tragedy such as this from ever happening again in San Jose.
"In the next 48 hours I will be back in communication with you to talk about what we’ve been working on in the next year and a half…to ensure we never see a horrific tragedy like this again in San Jose.”
Liccardo announced that a vigil will be held at City Hall Plaza at 6 p.m. Thursday. The mayor, members of the San Jose City Council and county and VTA officials will be attending. "We know that our entire community and many others will need this moment and many others (to grieve)," said Liccardo.
Light rail service was suspended at 12 p.m. Wednesday with buses providing alternative service and will likely not be restored for several days.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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