The death toll from the mass shooting at a Northern California light rail yard increased to 10 early Thursday, including the gunman, as one of the injured died in hospital overnight.
The attack occurred at the Valley Transportation Authority in San Jose on Wednesday. Eight people died immediately. The gunman also died, police said.
The additional victim added to the death toll was 49-year-old Alex Ward Fritch. All the victims will be honored Thursday night at an event at the San Jose City Hall Plaza.
Investigators on Thursday will try to determine why VTA maintenance worker Samuel James Cassidy, 57, shot nine co-workers and then killed himself.
Cassidy had often complained about being mistreated at work and had a violent temper, the Mercury News reported, citing courts records and interviews with his ex-wife and neighbors.
The attack was the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the San Francisco Bay Area. San Jose is located about 40 miles southeast of downtown San Francisco.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo told CNN the victims “knew the shooter well.”
Officials said Cassidy’s home was on fire Wednesday morning after he left for work, and was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived. It’s believed he set it ablaze before setting out for work.
Deputy Russell Davis of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office said the shooting happened as employees from the midnight shift were leaving and the day shift was beginning work.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen told reporters that multiple guns were used in the shooting and some other suspicious items were found at the rail yard. The bomb squad ultimately cleared the scene.
Cassidy’s ex-wife Cecilia Nelms said her ex-husband “had two sides.”
“When he was in a good mood, he was a great guy. When he was mad, he was mad,” she told The Mercury News.
Nelms told the East Bay Times that Cassidy resented his work and often spoke angrily about co-workers and bosses. The couple divorced in 2005, and Nelms said she has not been in touch with Cassidy for about 13 years.
In a 2009 court filing, an ex-girlfriend accused Cassidy of rape and said he would exhibit “enraged” mood swings that were fueled by alcohol.
Neighbor Doug Suh described Cassidy as “lonely” and said he’d never seen any friends or family visit in the five years he lived nearby.
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God rest the souls of those that died.
What’s the bet, in the coming days, we find out “HE was known to authorities”??