# Mass shooting near downtown San Jose **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 26, 2021, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959 "2021-05-26T15:27:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959/1 "2021-05-26T15:27:32Z")
It’s at the county government center, specifically, at the VTA (our local transit authority). [Multiple people are dead](https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/05/26/active-shooter-response-underway-near-san-jose-vta-light-rail-yard/). I was scheduled to go into this area later today for jury duty, but now I don’t know what’s going to go down during the rest of the morning. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959/2 "2021-05-26T15:42:53Z")
there is a presser now. no numbers as yet, just multiple victims. there will be another presser in an hour. suspect is dead. teelabrown, it sounds like you may not be able to get to the area. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959/3 "2021-05-26T16:05:57Z")
Yes, it’s starting to look like a major LEO presence will be there all day, not to mention the media and staging areas to receive the families of the victims. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959/4 "2021-05-26T16:20:34Z")
> **[Ten dead, including gunman, in San Jose rail yard mass shooting; victims...](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-05-26/police-swarm-active-shooter-incident-in-san-jose)** > > The gunman set his own house on fire before driving to a union meeting at the VTA facility and opening fire, authorities said. La Times is reporting 8 dead. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959/5 "2021-05-26T16:24:45Z")
I got a notice to avoid the area. Like almost everyone, I am so damn tired of this. I guess it’s the Bay Area’s turn in the barrel today. One local news source is saying injuries, one is saying fatalities. I’m hoping there are more of the former than the latter. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959/6 "2021-05-26T16:27:26Z")
I’m working from home, and keeping a tab open for a local news station’s youtube live channel discussing this. The live shots that I see show a massive police presence. Yeesh, I know better than to look at comments on youtube. But the idiot political posts under this stream are nauseating. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959/7 "2021-05-26T19:05:08Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > La Times is reporting 8 dead. So is the shooter. > **[Mass Shooting Leaves 9 Dead at VTA Yard in San Jose](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/police-deputies-respond-to-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/2554847/)** > > Nine people were killed Wednesday morning after a shooting at a Valley Transportation Authority yard north of downtown San Jose, according to authorities. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959/8 "2021-05-26T21:09:16Z")
Just a few miles from me. A little surprised I didn’t get an alert on my phone. Looks like the guy set a fire and planted some bombs, too. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959/9 "2021-05-26T21:36:37Z")
I couldn’t make out from the news coverage nor the drone footage if the courthouse and its parking lot were cordoned off, too, so I took a chance and tried to drive there. I knew that it was very unlikely that I could get access, but I wanted to be able to say honestly to a judge that I tried to come in to court but could not because it was blocked. Yep, I drove north on First Street towards the county buildings and could see a forest of blinking emergency vehicle lights up ahead. I turned off early so as not to add to the melee, and came back home. Well, judge, I tried. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959/10 "2021-05-26T23:06:34Z")
@teelabrown Is there court clerk that you can call and leave a message with? That way there’s a specific record. As far as the shooting, I liked Newsome’s speech. He said: “You know, pick a state. And here we are in the United States of America where we are experiencing something that is just not experienced anywhere else in the world. There is a sameness to this. And that numbness, I think, is something we are all feeling. All of us gathered here today, looking at the scene, listening to governors, mayors, chiefs, speaking, similar tone and terms, expression of condolences, all the right emotions and perhaps the right words, but it begs the damn question; What the hell is wrong in the United States of America? What the hell is wrong with us?” Other than the speeches, we’ll have to wait to learn more about the hows and the whys. It sounds like almost every agency you can think of is involved. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959/11 "2021-05-27T00:27:18Z")
It appears that they’ve found explosives and bomb making materials. His ex-wife stated that he often came home mad about work. He was frequently upset about how he was treated compared to others. They got divorced in 2005, so this has been simmering for awhile. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959/12 "2021-05-27T00:32:01Z")
Oddly the VTA has _fantastic_ benefits and his pay was around $100K. I used to live right near there. So far the police have not come up with a motive. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2021, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959/13 "2021-05-28T14:09:15Z")
NBC News Radio can’t seem to make up their minds. An hour ago, the shooter was “a very disgruntled employee”; now they said authorities are still looking for a motive. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2021, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959/14 "2021-05-28T15:12:06Z")
Well he was certainly pissed about _something_. Whether it was his cow-orkers, his management, his union, his government, Thetans, or his hemorrhoids we may never know. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2021, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959/15 "2021-05-28T16:37:28Z")
> [@](#): > > A gunman who killed nine people at a California rail yard where he worked appeared to target some of the victims, a sheriff told The Associated Press on Thursday… > > “It appears to us at this point that he said to one of the people there: ‘I’m not going to shoot you,’” Smith said. “And then he shot other people. So, I imagine there was some kind of thought on who he wanted to shoot.” > > …After being detained in 2016, Cassidy was found to have a memo book with notes on how he hated the Valley Transportation Authority… > > Cassidy’s ex-wife said he had talked about killing people at work more than a decade ago. Documents show he had worked at the transit authority since at least 2012. .[Hints to San Jose shooter’s motive emerge | Gun Violence News | Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/27/hints-to-san-jose-shooters-motive-emerge) ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2021, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959/16 "2021-05-28T18:24:58Z")
Well, I don’t know how reputable a news site Raw Story is, but they report that the shooter was to attend a [disciplinary hearing](https://www.rawstory.com/samuel-cassidy-san-jose/) on the day of the shooting. He had been making “inappropriate racial comments” to co-workers, and also boasting that he had guns and explosives, per the story. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2021, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959/17 "2021-05-28T18:32:23Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > Well, I don’t know how reputable a news site Raw Story is [Wikipedia doesn’t like it.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources/Perennial_sources) ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2021, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959/18 "2021-05-28T19:54:53Z")
> Overall, we rate Raw Story Left Biased based on story selection that favors the left and Mixed for factual reporting due to half-true, false, and unproven claims, as well as the promotion of mild pseudoscience misinformation. .[https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/raw-story/](https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/raw-story/) ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2021, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959/19 "2021-05-29T01:08:22Z")
Honestly, in today’s political climate, I would not trust anything without a left-leaning bias. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2021, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959/20 "2021-05-29T01:22:46Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Oddly the VTA has _fantastic_ benefits and his pay was around $100K. People should know that the median household income for Santa Clara County is $126,606. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-shooting-near-downtown-san-jose/942959.md?page=2)