San Jose shooting: Eight victims identified as neighbours describe killer as ‘scary, mean’

Neighbour of suspected gunman recalls how he yelled at him once and never responded to greetings

People take part in a vigil held by the Interfaith Community following the mass shooting at the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light-rail yard, at St. James Park (Getty Images)

All eight victims killed in the shooting at a San Jose train yard on Wednesday have been identified by the authorities.

The youngest victim of the shooting incident was Adrian Balleza, 29. The other victims were identified by the coroner as Lars Kepler Lane, 63; Paul Delacruz Megia, 42; Taptejdeep Singh, 36; Jose Dejesus Hernandez, 35; Timothy Michael Romo, 49; Michael Joseph Rudometkin, 40 and Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, 63.

A ninth man died at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center after getting wounded in the attack.

The family of Sikh victim Taptejdeep Singh told reporters at the scene that they were told he saved one person’s live before succumbing to his own injuries.

The gunman has been identified as Sam Cassidy, 57, an employee at the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). The shooting took place at around 6.45am local time (2.45pm GMT) during an employee meeting.

"When our deputies went through the door, initially he was still firing rounds. When our deputy saw him, he took his life," Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said to the reporters.

She said the deputies "were going through hallways saying, ‘Sheriff’s office!’ He knew at that time that his time for firing shots was over," reported KCRA.

A neighbour of the gunman, Dough Suh, who lives directly across from Cassidy’s home, said he saw him leaving with a “big bag” in his security camera footage at 5.40am.

Mr Suh said Cassidy would never reply to his greetings whenever they crossed paths and described him as “mean” and “scary.” He said Cassidy once yelled at him when he manoeuvred his car to back out from his drive way.

“He yelled ‘get out, never come here’. Since then I never talked to him,” said Mr Suh.

The gunman’s ex-wife Cecilia Nelms said he spoke angrily about his co-workers and resented them, reported AP. She said Cassidy told her he wanted to kill his colleagues but she never believed he would do it.

“When he was in a good mood, he was a great guy. When he was mad, he was mad”, she said. He “resented what he saw as unfair work assignments” and “would rant about his job when he got home”.

Raul Peralez, a friend of victim Michael Rudometkin, said he was planning to go with him to play golf and it would never happen now.

“My dad and I were just planning another golf day reunion with Mikey, and now that will never happen again. My family and I have lost a long time great friend and there are no words to describe the heartache we are feeling right now, especially for his family,” Mr Peralez said in a Facebook post.

In 2021, there have been 15 mass killing incidents in the US, defined as an attack in which at least four people have been killed, according to an Associated Press database. Almost 86 lives have been lost in these shooting incidents so far this year.

President Joe Biden called the attack a "horrific tragedy," ordering flags to be flown at half mast. He said more has to be done to take action on gun control.

Governor Gavin Newsom addressed a press conference from the crime scene, expressing frustration about the “rinse and repeat” cycle of shooting incidents in the US.

"There is a numbness, I imagine, some of us are feeling about this because there’s a sameness to this, you know, anywhere [in the] USA. It just feels like it happens over and over and over again. Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat," Mr Newsom, a Democrat said.

"What the hell is wrong with the United States of America?" he added. "When will we put down our arms?"

House speaker Nancy Pelosi, elected to office from San Francisco, said she was “personally devastated” by the mass shooting.

“All Americans join the San Jose community in sadness and shock over today’s horrific mass shooting. As a Californian, I am personally devastated,” she said.