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Case file

2021 San Jose shooting

SOLVED2021VTA Guadalupe Division rail yard, San Jose, California3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Samuel Cassidy (gunman)
Samuel Cassidy (gunman) — Credit: Doug Suh · Public domain

On the morning of May 26, 2021, a mass shooting occurred at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority's (VTA) Guadalupe Division rail yard in San Jose, California. Samuel James Cassidy, a 57-year-old VTA employee, shot and killed nine coworkers before fatally shooting himself. All ten men who died, including Cassidy, were VTA employees; the nine victims ranged in age from 29 to 63 and were all killed by multiple gunshot wounds, ruled homicides by autopsy.

Before the shooting, Cassidy set fire to his own home in South San Jose, having placed ammunition and accelerants near a lit stove; no one was inside. He then drove to the VTA facility and opened fire in a conference room in Building B during a power crew meeting, sparing the local transit union president who was present, before moving to Building A and continuing to shoot. Witnesses and police said he appeared to target some individuals while sparing others. Responding sheriff's deputies and police arrived within minutes of the first 911 calls; Cassidy killed himself on the third floor of Building A as officers closed in, roughly ten minutes after the shooting began. He had fired 39 rounds from three legally obtained semiautomatic handguns and was carrying 32 high-capacity magazines. A subsequent search of his home found 12 firearms, 25,000 rounds of ammunition, and a dozen Molotov cocktails.

Cassidy had worked at VTA since 2001. His ex-wife described him as having long-standing anger toward coworkers and the agency, and said he had spoken of workplace violence more than a decade earlier. VTA records showed a pattern of insubordination and verbal altercations, though he was never formally disciplined. In 2016, he had been detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after returning from the Philippines, when agents found writings expressing hatred toward VTA and conducted questioning focused partly on suspected sex tourism; the detention did not lead to arrest, and local law enforcement was not informed of it. A district attorney later said this information, had it been shared, could have supported a gun violence restraining order.

In the aftermath, VTA light rail service was suspended for months and gradually restored between August and September 2021. The City of San Jose announced a package of gun-violence policy proposals, including a first-in-the-nation gun liability insurance and fee requirement, which the City Council passed in January 2022 and which was subsequently challenged in litigation by gun-rights groups. Memorials were held, including a permanent installation unveiled on the shooting's first anniversary. In May 2022, victims' families filed wrongful death lawsuits against VTA, Santa Clara County, and security contractors; by November 2022 eight families reached an $8 million settlement, while the family of one victim continued litigation as of mid-2025. A railyard employee who witnessed the shooting died by suicide in August 2021 on his first day back at work.

Key facts

Victims
Lars Kepler Lane, Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, Michael Joseph Rudometkin, Alex Ward Fritch, Timothy Michael Romo, Paul Delacruz Megia, Taptejdeep Singh, Jose Dejesus Hernandez, Adrian Balleza
Date
2021
Location
VTA Guadalupe Division rail yard, San Jose, California
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 2016-08

    Samuel Cassidy was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for secondary inspection after returning from the Philippines; agents found writings expressing hatred toward VTA.

  2. 2021-05-26

    Cassidy set fire to his home in South San Jose, then shot and killed nine VTA coworkers at the Guadalupe Division rail yard before killing himself.

  3. 2021-05-31

    The FBI-led investigation of the shooting site concluded.

  4. 2021-06-08

    San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and councilmembers announced ten gun-violence harm reduction policy proposals.

  5. 2021-06-15

    San Jose City Council approved an ordinance requiring gun retailers to record video and audio of gun sales.

  6. 2021-06-28

    California State Legislature allocated $20 million to VTA in the state budget for recovery efforts.

  7. 2021-08

    A railyard employee who witnessed the shooting died by suicide on his first day back at work.

  8. 2021-08-02

    VTA began a free bus bridge serving portions of the Blue and Orange lines as light rail service resumed in stages.

  9. 2021-09-18

    Restoration of VTA light rail service was completed with the Green Line south of downtown reopening.

  10. 2022-01-25

    San Jose City Council passed the Gun Harm Reduction Ordinance, prompting a lawsuit from the National Association for Gun Rights.

  11. 2022-05

    Families of the nine shooting victims filed wrongful death lawsuits against VTA, Santa Clara County, and private security contractors.

  12. 2022-05-26

    A permanent memorial to the victims was unveiled on the one-year anniversary of the shooting.

  13. 2022-09-30

    District Judge Beth Labson Freeman issued a partial dismissal of the NAGR lawsuit against San Jose's gun control ordinance.

  14. 2022-11

    Eight of the nine victims' families reached an $8 million settlement in their wrongful death lawsuits.

  15. 2023-07-13

    Judge Freeman again dismissed the consolidated lawsuit against San Jose's gun ordinance, with leave to amend in part.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Lars Kepler Lane

    VICTIM

    63-year-old VTA employee killed in the shooting; his family declined a settlement and pursued ongoing litigation.

  • Abdolvahab Alaghmandan

    VICTIM

    63-year-old VTA employee killed in the shooting.

  • Michael Joseph Rudometkin

    VICTIM

    40-year-old VTA employee killed in the shooting.

  • Alex Ward Fritch

    VICTIM

    49-year-old VTA employee killed in the shooting.

  • Timothy Michael Romo

    VICTIM

    49-year-old VTA employee killed in the shooting.

  • Paul Delacruz Megia

    VICTIM

    42-year-old VTA employee killed in the shooting.

  • Taptejdeep Singh

    VICTIM

    36-year-old VTA employee killed in the shooting.

  • Jose Dejesus Hernandez

    VICTIM

    35-year-old VTA employee killed in the shooting.

  • Samuel James Cassidy

    CONVICTED

    Identified by police as the perpetrator who shot and killed nine VTA coworkers before killing himself; no criminal conviction occurred as he died at the scene, but he is identified by law enforcement as responsible for the killings.

  • Adrian Balleza

    VICTIM

    29-year-old VTA employee killed in the shooting.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Archival records

  • Samuel Cassidy (gunman)

    archival location

    Samuel Cassidy (gunman)

    Credit: Doug Suh · Public domain · Source

  • VTA railyard after 2021 San Jose shooting 04

    unclassified

    VTA railyard after 2021 San Jose shooting 04

    Credit: Legoktm · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

  • VTA railyard after 2021 San Jose shooting 03

    crime scene press

    VTA railyard after 2021 San Jose shooting 03

    Credit: Legoktm · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

  • VTA railyard after 2021 San Jose shooting 06

    archival location

    VTA railyard after 2021 San Jose shooting 06

    Credit: Legoktm · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

  • VTA railyard after 2021 San Jose shooting 01

    unclassified

    VTA railyard after 2021 San Jose shooting 01

    Credit: Legoktm · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

  • VTA railyard after 2021 San Jose shooting 08

    unclassified

    VTA railyard after 2021 San Jose shooting 08

    Credit: Legoktm · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

  • VTA railyard after 2021 San Jose shooting 07

    unclassified

    VTA railyard after 2021 San Jose shooting 07

    Credit: Legoktm · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

  • VTA railyard after 2021 San Jose shooting 02

    crime scene press

    VTA railyard after 2021 San Jose shooting 02

    Credit: Legoktm · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

  • VTA railyard after 2021 San Jose shooting 05

    unclassified

    VTA railyard after 2021 San Jose shooting 05

    Credit: Legoktm · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

  • SanJoseshootingweapons

    archival location

    SanJoseshootingweapons

    Credit: Santa Clara County Sheriff · Public domain · Source

  • Rider’s notice at Japantown–Ayer station, San Jose, California, June 2021

    archival location

    Rider’s notice at Japantown–Ayer station, San Jose, California, June 2021

    Credit: Minh Nguyen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

Places

VTA Guadalupe Division rail yard, San Jose, California

37.3542, -121.9083

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On May 26, 2021, a 57-year-old VTA employee shot and killed nine coworkers at a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority rail yard in San Jose, California, before killing himself, making it the deadliest mass shooting in Bay Area history.
Where did the shooting happen?
VTA Guadalupe Division rail yard, San Jose, California.
Who was convicted?
Samuel James Cassidy (Identified by police as the perpetrator who shot and killed nine VTA coworkers before killing himself; no criminal conviction occurred as he died at the scene, but he is identified by law enforcement as responsible for the killings.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.
More cases in California

Sources

  1. 2021 San Jose shootingwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — CNNnews · CNN · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — San Francisco Chroniclenews · San Francisco Chronicle · 2026-07-07

Last verified JUL 2026