Santa Clara County officials Wednesday evening identified the victims of the attack on the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority maintenance yard more than 12 hours earlier.
The list of names—all male VTA employees—was released by the county medical examiner/ coroner’s office two hours after the county Sheriff’s Department confirmed a 10:25am report by San Jose Inside that the shooter was 57-year-old Samuel Cassidy, also a VTA employee.
Sheriff Laurie Smith said earlier at a 1:30pm press conference that the killer shot himself as he was being rushed by deputies in the wake of the 6:34am bloodbath. The gunman acted alone, she said, praising the heroism of deputies. The Sheriff’s Office is next door to the VTA maintenance yard.
At least one VTA employee, who has not been identified, survived and is in critical condition at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, said a hospital spokesperson. Deputies had earlier said it was unclear how many others were injured in the attack on attendees at a union meeting, but said that many of those injuries were “major.”
A Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said the shooting occurred in a building, but gave no details about the location of the attack, or what weapons were used.
San Jose police were participating in but not leading the mass shooting investigation. The FBI has been called in and is likely to lead law enforcement efforts.
As of Wednesday evening,the VTA has released no detailed information about the incident. Governor Gavin Newsom attended the Wednesday press conference in San Jose and ordered all flags to be flown at half-mast out of respect for VTA shooting victims.
The coroner’s office said notification has been made to all victims’ next of kin and that the onsite investigation had been completed..
The ages of the victims range in age from 29 to 63, and only their names and ages were released. They are:
Paul Delacruz Megia, 42
Taptejdeep Singh, 36
Adrian Balleza, 29
Jose Dejesus Hernandez III, 35
Timothy Michael Romo, 49
Michael Joseph Rudometkin, 40
Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, 63
Lars Kepler Lane, 63
The family of Singh had earlier identified him as one of the eight victims killed Wednesday morning. Singh's relatives said he was a light-rail operator and father of two.
The Red Cross is helping the families of the eight victims.
If you are struggling with what happened at the mass shooting event today, the Crisis Hotline 855-278-4204, can help with trained counselors available. Do not hesitate to text RENEW to 741741.
