San Jose shooting – Samuel Cassidy had ‘spoken to ex-wife about killing co-workers’ before he massacred nine
SUSPECTED gunman Samuel Cassidy had a “bad temper” and said he wanted to “kill his coworkers”, his ex-wife has claimed.
The 57-year-old has been named as the shooter who killed at least nine people at the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) rail maintenance yard in San Jose, California yesterday morning.
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His ex-wife Cecilia Nelms, 64, told the Associated Press that Cassidy had a “bad temper” and repeatedly spoke about wanting to kill people.
She said: “I never believed him and it never happened. Until now.”
Ms. Nelms recalled how Cassidy would come home from work angry about things that had happened during the day.
She told the Canon City Daily Record: “He had two sides. When he was in a good mood he was a great guy. When he was mad, he was mad.”
The pair were married for 10 years before he filed for divorce in 2005.
They had not been in contact for 13 years.
At least nine people plus the gunman are dead following yesterday’s shooting.
Dad of two Taptejdeep Singh, 42, and “loving grandfather” 63-year-old Lars Lane were among those killed.
The other victims are: Paul Delacruz Megia, 42, Adrian Balleza, 29; Jose Dejesus Hernandez III, 35; Timothy Romo, 49; Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, 63; and Michael Rudometkin, 40.
Alex Ward Fritch, who was wounded by the gunfire, passed away on Wednesday night at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.
Councilman Raul Peralez paid tribute to Rudometkin on Facebook.
He posted: “My heart is broken, I still don’t want to believe this… Mikey was all around the greatest guy.”
Air Force Veteran Timothy Romo had worked at VTA for over two decades.
His neighbor Nancy Martin told the San Francisco Chronicle: “He was a very friendly man, always ready to help you out.”
Chilling CCTV footage released last night captured the suspected gunman walking away from his home just before it went up in flames.
Video shows the man believed to be Cassidy preparing for his impending bloodshed, innocuously walking between a white Ford pickup and dark Toyota sedan parked at his home driveway.
A witness managed to videotape the same home bursting with flames and clouded in dark smoke as firefighters tirelessly work to put it out.
Cassidy was a maintenance worker for VTA, police said.
His father, 88-year-old James Cassidy, told The Daily Beast that his son “seemed completely himself” in the days leading up to the shooting.
He said: “He didn’t talk about his job or politics. I just found out he was dead and his house on fire and all that a minute ago.
“It’s really…. I really, really don’t want to… I guess I have to just kind of absorb it all myself. I don’t really have any information anyway, so… sorry.”
Police have not yet confirmed a motive for the shooting.
San Jose police responded to the scene as of 6.34 am local time on Wednesday morning.
As of 7am, the scene was still labeled as “active” as cops urged people to stay out of the area.
The station is located near the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office at 101 Younger Avenue and is described as a hub that stores multiple VTA trains and a maintenance yard.
Glenn Hendricks, the chairperson of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority board of directors, said at a press conference that the shooting happened in the yard area of the station.
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Holding back tears, he said: “This is a horrific day for our city and a tragic day for the VTA family.”
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo also spoke during the briefing, calling the shooting a “very dark moment.”
He vowed to ensure that “nothing like this ever happens in our city again.”