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May 28, 2021

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What the hell is wrong with us? governor asks after US massacre

Source: Agencies | 00:13 UTC+8 May 28, 2021 | Print Edition

A CALIFORNIA transit employee killed nine co-workers before killing himself on Wednesday, the latest in a spate of deadly mass shootings across the United States, prompting the state鈥檚 governor to ask: 鈥淲hat the hell is wrong with us?鈥

Authorities did not immediately offer many details or a possible motive for the shooting, which unfolded at about 6:30am at a light-rail yard for commuter trains of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority in the heart of Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area.

A bomb squad was searching the yard and adjacent buildings after at least one explosive device was found, Santa Clara County Sheriff鈥檚 Deputy Russell Davis said at a news conference.

Sheriff Laurie Smith told reporters that gunfire was still going on when her deputies arrived, and the assailant took his own life, apparently when he realized police were closing in.

Officers never exchanged gunfire with the suspect, Davis said. Smith credited swift action by sheriff鈥檚 deputies, who rushed to the scene from their own headquarters next door to the rail yard, preventing what might have been a much greater loss of life.

Governor Gavin Newsom, appearing with Smith and others in San Jose, voiced exasperation at the scale of gun violence in America.

鈥淭here is a sameness to this and that numbness, I think, is something that we are all feeling,鈥 Newsom said.

鈥淚t begs the damn question, What the hell is going on in the United States of America? What the hell is wrong with us and when are we going to come to grips with this?鈥

The gunman and the nine victims were all employees of the transit agency situated near the city鈥檚 airport, officials said. The victims were found in two buildings on the site.

The County of Santa Clara medical examiner-coroner鈥檚 office identified the victims on Wednesday. They appeared to all be men and ranged in age from 29 to 63.

The ninth victim, Alex Ward Fritch, 49, died late on Wednesday after he was taken to the hospital in critical condition, the medical examiner鈥檚 office said, according to NBC Bay Area.

Authorities did not release the gunman鈥檚 name or age. The San Jose Mercury News and other media outlets identified him as Samuel Cassidy, 57, a maintenance worker at the yard.

Cassidy had worked for the transit authority since at least 2012, when he was listed as an 鈥渆lectro-mechanic,鈥 and was promoted to 鈥渟ubstation maintainer鈥 in 2015, according to records posted by the nonprofit website Transportation California.

Last year, he earned a salary of US$102,000, plus benefits and US$20,000 in overtime, the records showed.

The suspect and another individual filed domestic violence restraining orders against one another in 2009, three years after Cassidy divorced his spouse, according to online court records.

San Jose, a city of about 1 million, lies at the heart of Silicon Valley, home to some of America鈥檚 biggest high-tech companies.

President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting, and his staff continued to monitor the situation while keeping in close contact with local officials to offer any assistance needed, the White House said.

Wednesday鈥檚 incident was the latest of at least nine deadly US mass shootings that have made national headlines in the past three months.

The country saw at least 200 mass shootings in the first 132 days of this year, according to a report by the Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit research group.

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