Families Torn Apart In San Jose Workplace Massacre
SAN JOSE (CBS13) – Investigators took down a large perimeter around the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority light rail facility shooting scene Wednesday night, after nine employees were killed by their co-worker who also killed himself.
The shooting erupted at 6:30 a.m. in the VTA railyard facility, and Santa Clara deputies declared the shooter down at 8:10 a.m.
Distraught families embraced in a Red Cross parking lot, after learning their loved ones were among the dead in a VTA workplace massacre.
Michael Rudometkin, 40, was killed in the attack. He was an overhead line worker for the light rail system. His cousin spoke to CBS13 about the worst-case fear before finally learning his fate.
"We don't know anything yet, sitting and waiting," Christina Gonzalez said. "Please pray. Thank you."
Video shows law enforcement arriving at the railyard building during the deadly morning attack.
The gunman was a VTA employee named Sam Cassidy. Witnesses saw Cassidy in the building before he opened fire.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo described their account.
"Some of the folks I talked to were at the scene and seeing him do his work, and then,c inexplicably, a gun started firing," Liccardo said.
People who live near the VTA complex left flowers, stunned another mass shooting hit so close to home.
"It makes no sense, it makes absolutely no sense," Raymundo Talavera said. "The ease at which people are killing each other it's just mind-blowing."
There were also concerns the suspect left explosives inside the building.
The sheriff's bomb squad did a sweep of the facility and they have declared it safe.
Initially, there were only eight people, aside from Cassidy, that were declared dead. The tenth fatality was reported shortly before midnight.
