The city of San Jose is in mourning after nine Valley Transportation Authority employees were killed in a mass shooting early Wednesday at a light rail facility near the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.
The VTA held a news conference to share information and memories about the employees who lost their lives. A memorial has formed outside City Hall and the flags flown at half staff. At 6 p.m. Thursday, the city will hold a vigil to honor the victims.
VIDEO: VTA leaders remember San Jose mass shooting victims
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MAY 27: Karrey Benbow, mother of Jose Dejesus Hernandez III, takes a moment after lighting a candle following a vigil for yesterday’s VTA mass shooting at San Jose City Hall in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, May 27, 2021. Hernandez III was one of nine killed in the mass shooting. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MAY 27: A memorial for yesterday’s VTA mass shooting following a vigil at San Jose City Hall in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, May 27, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE, CA – May 27: San Jose City Hall plaza is filled on Thursday, May 27, 2021 for a vigil in honor of the nine VTA employees killed in yesterday’s mass shooting in San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MAY 27: Family of Paul Delacruz Megia, who was killed during yesterday’s VTA mass shooting, including his father Leonard, center right, and son Gavin, center left, grieve for Megia before a vigil at San Jose City Hall in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, May 27, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE, CA – May 27: Speaking on Thursday, May 27, 2021, at a vigil for those lost in the VTA shootings in San Jose, Karmen Singh remembers his brother, Taptej Singh, one of the nine employees who lost their life. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE, CA – May 27: Mourners gather around a picture of Jose Dejesus Hernandez III, during a vigil at San Jose City Hall, Thursday, May 27, 2021, for the nine VTA employees killed in yesterday’s mass shooting in San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MAY 27: San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo speaks with Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren before a vigil for yesterday’s VTA mass shooting at San Jose City Hall in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, May 27, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MAY 27: People attend a a vigil for yesterday’s VTA mass shooting at San Jose City Hall in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, May 27, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MAY 27: ATU Local 265 President John Courtney speaks during a vigil for yesterday’s VTA mass shooting at San Jose City Hall in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, May 27, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE, CA – May 27: Wearing shirts with the faces of their fallen colleagues, VTA employees arrive for a vigil, Thursday, May 27, 2021, in honor the nine victims of yesterday’s mass shooting in San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE, CA – May 27: Before an evening vigil, flowers are laid next to portraits of the nine VTA employees killed in yesterday’s mass shooting, Thursday, May 27, 2021, at City Hall in San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) Names of the victims of the VTA shooting are taped to a wall of a growing memorial at City Hall in San Jose on Thursday, May 27, 2021. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) Flags fly at half staff Thursday, May 27, 2021, in front of City Hall in San Jose in memory of the victims of the mass shooting at the VTA train yard. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
SAN JOSE – MAY 27: VTA employees get emotional during a press conference regarding the victims in yesterday’s shooting at the VTA rail yard in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, May, 27, 2021. (Randy Vazquez/ Bay Area News Group) San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo speaks during a news conference Thursday honoring nine VTA employees killed by a coworker one day earlier. On Wednesday, Samuel Cassidy opened fire on coworkers in two separate buildings within a VTA light rail maintenance facility. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE, CA – MAY 27: Members of the FBI Evidence Response Team gather in a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority rail yard on Thursday, May 27, 2021, in San Jose, Calif. Samuel Cassidy opened fire on coworkers in two separate buildings within a VTA Light Rail maintenance facility killing 9 people on Wednesday, May 26, 2021. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority employees George Sandoval, left, and Nauni Singh take part in a news conference Thursday honoring nine VTA employees killed by a coworker a day earlier. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
SAN JOSE – MAY 27: People listen during a press conference regarding the victims in yesterday’s shooting at the VTA rail yard in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, May, 27, 2021. (Randy Vazquez/ Bay Area News Group) Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority officials take part in a news conference Thursday honoring nine VTA employees killed by a coworker a day earlier. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) Members of the FBI Evidence Response Team on Thursday investigate the shooting at the Valley Transportation Authority rail yard that left nine employees dead. One day earlier, Samuel Cassidy opened fire on coworkers in two separate buildings at a VTA light rail maintenance facility. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
