- Oct 17, 2011
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After a mass shooting left nine workers at a Valley Transportation Authority rail yard in San Jose dead, authorities are trying to understand why — and how — the gunman committed the horrific attack.
Evidence has painted a picture of the assailant, 57-year-old Samuel Cassidy, as a disgruntled VTA worker who hated his job. Authorities on Friday said a search of his house — which was burned in a fire that coincided with Wednesday’s shooting — uncovered multiple cans of gasoline, suspected Molotov cocktails, 12 firearms and approximately 25,000 rounds of various types of ammunition.
Potential explosive materials were also found in Cassidy’s locker at the VTA rail yard in the hours after the shooting. On Friday, officials said they completed their search of the rail yard and found no explosives.
Cassidy, who authorities said took his own life when deputies confronted him, was armed with three semiautomatic 9-millimeter handguns and 32 high-capacity magazines loaded with additional ammunition. Officials said he fired 39 shots.
Emerging reports Friday also indicated that Cassidy may have been facing a disciplinary hearing at the agency, where he worked as a maintenance worker for the last eight years.
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A source had confirmed to KPIX 5 News Thursday night that such a meeting was to take place, but John Courtney, President of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265, issued a statement saying that wasn’t the case.
“I wish to make it crystal clear that the ATU Local 265 officials who were at the site of this unfathomable tragedy were not — repeat not –there to attend any disciplinary or Skelly Rights hearings or to respond to any jobsite or racial-oriented complaints,” Courtney said in his statement. “I was at the yard simply to check on working conditions and the continual safety of the dedicated men and women who work there.”
When asked Friday if a Cassidy disciplinary was scheduled for Wednesday, VTA officials simply said “No.”
“Based on recent developments in the investigation we can say that the suspect has been a highly disgruntled VTA employee for many years, which may have contributed to why he targeted VTA employees,” the sheriff’s update read.
Smith told KPIX 5 that Cassidy picked out his victims–who would live and who would die.
“To one person he said, ‘I’m not going to shoot you.’ And then he started shooting others,” Smith explained.
After a mass shooting left nine workers at a Valley Transportation Authority rail yard in San Jose dead, authorities are trying to understand why — and how — the gunman committed the horrific attack.
Evidence has painted a picture of the assailant, 57-year-old Samuel Cassidy, as a disgruntled VTA worker who hated his job. Authorities on Friday said a search of his house — which was burned in a fire that coincided with Wednesday’s shooting — uncovered multiple cans of gasoline, suspected Molotov cocktails, 12 firearms and approximately 25,000 rounds of various types of ammunition.
Potential explosive materials were also found in Cassidy’s locker at the VTA rail yard in the hours after the shooting. On Friday, officials said they completed their search of the rail yard and found no explosives.
Cassidy, who authorities said took his own life when deputies confronted him, was armed with three semiautomatic 9-millimeter handguns and 32 high-capacity magazines loaded with additional ammunition. Officials said he fired 39 shots.
Emerging reports Friday also indicated that Cassidy may have been facing a disciplinary hearing at the agency, where he worked as a maintenance worker for the last eight years.
Link2
A source had confirmed to KPIX 5 News Thursday night that such a meeting was to take place, but John Courtney, President of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265, issued a statement saying that wasn’t the case.
“I wish to make it crystal clear that the ATU Local 265 officials who were at the site of this unfathomable tragedy were not — repeat not –there to attend any disciplinary or Skelly Rights hearings or to respond to any jobsite or racial-oriented complaints,” Courtney said in his statement. “I was at the yard simply to check on working conditions and the continual safety of the dedicated men and women who work there.”
When asked Friday if a Cassidy disciplinary was scheduled for Wednesday, VTA officials simply said “No.”
“Based on recent developments in the investigation we can say that the suspect has been a highly disgruntled VTA employee for many years, which may have contributed to why he targeted VTA employees,” the sheriff’s update read.
Smith told KPIX 5 that Cassidy picked out his victims–who would live and who would die.
“To one person he said, ‘I’m not going to shoot you.’ And then he started shooting others,” Smith explained.
