Sam Cassidy, Suspected San Jose Shooter, Fired 39 Shots at Rail Yard Facility: Police

Sam Cassidy, the suspected San Jose, California, shooter, fired 39 shots at the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light rail yard facility on Wednesday, police said.

Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith told the Associated Press that Cassidy arrived at the facility at around 6 a.m. local time on Wednesday and fired 39 shots, killing nine people and then himself. Smith also told the AP on Thursday that Cassidy arrived at the facility carrying a duffel bag containing two semi-automatic handguns and 11 high-capacity magazines.

Two law enforcement officials identified Cassidy as the suspected shooter to the AP on Wednesday. They spoke under the condition of anonymity.

While police have yet to identify a motive for the shooting, Smith told the AP that "it appears to us at this point that he said to one of the people there, 'I'm not going to shoot you.'"

"And then he shot other people. So I imagine there was some kind of thought on who he wanted to shoot," Smith said. "I'm not sure we'll ever actually find the real motive, but we'll piece it together as much as we can from witnesses."

Smith also told the AP that the 9 mm handguns recovered by police appeared to be legal but that the high-capacity magazines, which contained 12 rounds each, are illegal in California. According to the AP, police have yet to discover how Cassidy obtained the 11 magazines.

The gunman died after a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Smith said. Eight victims were initially identified by the Santa Clara County medical examiner's office on Wednesday. A ninth victim was pronounced dead later that day after being transported to the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in critical condition.

The medical examiner's office identified the victims as 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; and Alex Ward Fritch, 49.

Numerous elected officials have offered their condolences and prayers for the victims and others affected by the mass shooting, including President Joe Biden, who ordered all flags to be flown at half-mast until Sunday to honor the victims.

Mass shootings are defined by the Gun Violence Archive as an incident where four or more people are killed or injured. According to data from the archive, there have been at least 232 mass shooting incidents in 2021, as of May 26.

Newsweek reached out to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.