Sikh man among eight people killed in California rail yard shooting
May 27, 2021
California [US], May 27 : A Sikh man was among eight people killed during the shooting at a rail yard in San Jose, California. However, the details of the victim's family have not been identified yet, as an official statement.
Santa Clara County officials have released the names of the shooting victims that includes 36-year-old Taptejdeep Singh and said that the details of the heritage of the victim have not been identified yet.
Apart from Taptejdeep Singh, other victims included -- Paul Delacruz Megia (42), Adrian Balleza (29), Jose Dejesus Hernandez Ill (35), Timothy Michael Romo (49), Michael Joseph Rudometkin (40), Abdolvahab Alaghmandan (63) and Lars Kepler Lane(63).
According to The Hill, police said that the shooter also died in the incident.
Deputy Russell Davis, Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office spokesperson announced that the investigation is "ongoing" and cautioned that "the numbers can change."
He said employees at the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), the facility where the shooting took place, are among the victims.
The suspected shooter, who died in the incident, was identified as a male employee of the VTA. However, Davis did not provide details on how the alleged shooter died, The Hill reported.
Davis also revealed that authorities received information that there are explosive devices located in the building. He said a bomb squad has been activated and is currently on the scene "trying to clear out every room and every crevice of that building."
The VTA control center is a hub that stores a number of trains along with a maintenance yard, and has an indoor and outdoor area, said the Deputy.
Glenn Hendricks, the chairperson of the VTA Board of Directors, noted at an earlier press conference that the shooting occurred on the VTA light rail yard, and not in the facilities operations control center.
According to the Deputy, multiple reports of shots fired came in at around 6:34 am (local time). The San Jose Police Department and Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office tweeted just after 7 am (local time) that officers were on the scene of an active shooting. Authorities requested people stay away from the area, near Younger Avenue and San Pedro Street.
About an hour later, Mayor Sam Liccardo said on Twitter that the shooter was "no longer a threat," adding that several people were being treated for injuries.
His comments came around the same time the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office tweeted "Shooter is down," The Hill reported.
