9 People Killed, Suspect Dead In San Jose Shooting

An employee opened fire at a light-rail facility in San Jose, California, killing nine people and wounding several others, authorities said Wednesday. The suspect was identified as 57-year-old Samuel Cassidy, two law enforcement sources told CBS News.

Authorities initially said eight victims had died but later said a ninth had succumbed to his injuries.

The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office received multiple 911 calls about shots fired at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority around 6:34 a.m. local time. Employees of the facility were evacuated from the building, which operates as a transit control center.

The victims were shot in two separate buildings and officials were working to quickly identify them and notify their families, Sheriff Laurie Smith said in a news conference Wednesday. Smith and officials praised first responders who rushed to the shooting scene.

Deputies did not exchange gunfire with the suspect and investigators believe he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Deputy Russell Davis, a sheriff's department spokesperson.

Davis said a bomb-sniffing dog detected explosive material at the crime scene, forcing officials to send a bomb squad to investigate "every crevice" of the facility. "They have to go through every room and every building to ensure that everything is safe," he said.

Cindy Chavez, a county supervisor, called the employees of the facility heroes of the coronavirus pandemic. "The buses never stopped running. VTA never stopped running. They kept at work and we are calling on them to be heroes a second time to survive such a terrible tragedy."

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, who serves on the VTA board, applauded first responders at the scene and expressed condolences to the families of the victims. "This is a very dark moment for our city and for our community but we have already seen how people are pulling together in this very, very tough time."