Sheriff's Office Says Eight Dead, Multiple Injuries in California Shooting

2021-05-26

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A gunman opened fire at a California light rail maintenance facility Wednesday killing eight and injuring multiple people.

Police have identified the shooter as 57-year-old Sam Cassidy, who worked at the Valley Transportation Authority facility in San Jose.

Cassidy is among those dead. None of the other victims have been identified.

In a statement from the White House, President Joe Biden said he and Vice President Kamala Harris had been briefed on the shootings.

"I have the solemn duty of yet again 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," the president said.

"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."

Santa Clara Sheriff's Office spokesman Deputy Russell Davis told reporters that police responded to multiple reports of a shooting near the facility at about 6:30 a.m. local time.

Davis did not identify the type of weapon used.

Also speaking at the news conference, chairman of the VTA board Glenn Hendricks called the mass shooting a "horrible tragedy," and said his thoughts and love go out to the VTA family.

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo called it "a very dark moment."

Bomb squads were also dispatched to the scene after reports of an explosive device.

Police were also investigating a house fire that started just before the shooting, Davis said. Public records show Cassidy owned a two-story home where firefighters responded, The Associated Press reported.

San Jose is a city of about 1 million people about 50 miles south of the San Francisco Bay area. It is considered the heart of Silicon Valley, a global center of technological innovation where some of America's biggest tech companies are based.

"It's just very difficult for everyone to be able to try to wrap their heads around and understand what has happened," Hendricks said.