8 killed by employee in California rail yard mass shooting

SAN JOSE, Calif.  - A public transit worker shot dead eight people at a California rail yard Wednesday before turning his gun on himself as police arrived, officials said, in the latest mass shooting to hit the United States.

Multiple victims were also wounded in the attack at the train maintenance compound in San Jose, just south of San Francisco, which has once again shone a spotlight on the country's raging gun control debate.

"What the hell is wrong with us, and when are we going to come to grips with this?" said California Governor Gavin Newsom at a press conference, where he praised the swift response of law enforcement. 

Law enforcement officers had rushed to investigate multiple early morning 911 calls reporting gunshots, and entered the compound during an "active shooting," said Russell Davis, a Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputy.

They did not exchange gunfire with the shooter, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

"I know for sure that when the suspect knew that law enforcement was there he took his own life," said Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith. "Our deputies were right there at that time."

Bomb squads were deployed after dogs detected "some type of explosives material at the crime scene," and were continuing to scour the site Wednesday afternoon, Davis said.

US President Joe Biden called the incident a "horrific tragedy" and ordered flags to be flown at half-staff, saying in a statement: "There are at least eight families who will never be whole again."

"Once again, I urge Congress to take immediate action and heed the call of the American people, including the vast majority of gun owners, to help end this epidemic of gun violence in America.

"Every life that is taken by a bullet pierces the soul of our nation. We can, and we must, do more."

'HORRIFIC'

The suspect -- identified by multiple media outlets as Samuel Cassidy -- was an employee of the Valley Transportation Authority, which provides rail and bus services for San Jose, a Silicon Valley tech hub of almost a million people.

Victims including VTA employees were found shot in two different buildings on the site. The authority's chairman Glenn Hendricks called the shooting a "horrible tragedy."

Dozens of police cars and fire engines lining the streets near the rail yard were joined at the scene by FBI officials. Special agent Craig Fair warned the "fairly sizable crime scene" would take a significant amount of time to process.

Nearby, anxious families of employees waited at a county building for word about the safety their relatives.

"This is a very dark moment for our city and for our community," said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.

Many of those killed or wounded were essential workers who had "helped us get through this horrific pandemic" by keeping public transport operating, he added.

San Jose police were also investigating a house fire believed to be linked to the shooting. According to multiple US media reports, the blaze began at the suspect's home shortly before the attack.

Local officials said the shooting -- which was initially reported before 7:00 am local time (1400 GMT) -- had taken place at an employee meeting, with at least 80 staff on site at the time.

GUN 'EPIDEMIC'

The United States has a long and painful history of deadly gun violence, in the form of a steady daily toll of shootings as well as high-profile mass killings that have targeted schools, work places and shopping centers.

Homicides, mostly gun-driven, have surged in the US over the past year. 

Mass shootings have occurred in recent months at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, an office building in California, a grocery store in Colorado and at several spas in Atlanta.

In August 2019, another mass shooting in the Bay Area left two children and a 25-year-old man dead at a garlic festival in Gilroy, around 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of San Jose.

Biden last month branded US gun violence an "epidemic" and an "international embarrassment."

There were more than 43,000 gun-related deaths in the United States last year, including suicides, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Agence France-Presse

3 dead, 4 injured in California shooting, say police

Police in California on Saturday said three people were killed and four were injured in a shooting at a bowling alley near Los Angeles.

Sergeant Ronald Harris of the Torrance Police Department confirmed to AFP that officers responded at 11:54 pm on Friday to reports of gunfire at Gable House Bowl.

He added all seven victims were male. Three were pronounced dead at the scene, with two others taken to hospital.

Witnesses told The Los Angeles Times there had been a fight at the gaming complex.

In a tweet posted shortly after midnight, the Torrance Police Department had warned people to "please stay away from the area."

Torrance, a coastal city, is located around 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of downtown Los Angeles in the South Bay region.

According to health authorities, nearly 40,000 people died in the United States as a result of firearms in 2017 -- a figure that includes suicides.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Pinoys in shock over latest mass shooting in California

CALIFORNIA – Filipinos working around the San Bernardino area where a mass shooting occurred were shocked by the incident.

Filipino Jasmine Barnes was at a nearby building when three armed people opened fire at the Inland Regional Center, killing 14 people and injuring 17 others on Wednesday afternoon.

A San Bernardino county employee, Barnes was at the center herself recently and works with many of the people inside.

"We work closely with them. I'm just afraid to ask kung sino yung mga victims. Nakakatakot talaga. I just don't feel safe sometimes anymore you know. I just pray that God will protect us," said Barnes.

While the incident was confined to the Inland Regional Center, most of the surrounding areas were affected.

Some Filipino women working for a remittance and cargo company just down the street from the incident said many of their Filipino customers work near and around the Center.

"It's kind of scary for us, even though we are here, but the thing is, it happened just near in this place," one of the Pinays said.

Another Pinay commented "Everybody is scared. It's the first time."

The latest mass shooting prompted several hours of lock down and closures. After hours of lockdowns, two suspects were shot and killed by officers while a third was apprehended.


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Two suspects dead after 14 killed in shooting rampage in California

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - A man and a woman suspected of taking part in a shooting attack that killed 14 people and wounded 17 at a Southern California social services agency on Wednesday died in a shootout with police hours later, authorities said.

One police officer was injured in the gunfight with the two suspects, who were confronted in their getaway vehicle after fleeing the scene of the shooting in San Bernardino, about 60 miles (100 km) east of Los Angeles, according to police.

The shooting rampage marked the deadliest U.S. gun violence since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012, in which 27 people, including the gunman, were killed.

Authorities also detained an individual seen running away from the vehicle, but investigators were not immediately sure that person was involved in the case, Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said at a news conference.

The chief said it was possible that a third shooter remained at large and that there were other people "involved in the planning" of the crime.

Burguan said the two suspects who were killed were armed with assault rifles and handguns and were dressed in "assault-style" clothing.

NBC News reported one of the three suspects was identified as Syed Farook by multiple sources, but Reuters was not able to confirm that.

HOLIDAY PARTY

A person by that name was listed on county documents as an employee of the San Bernardino County Environmental Health Department. That department had gathered on Wednesday for a holiday party at the shooting site.

The attack unfolded at 11 a.m. on the campus of the Inland Regional Center, an agency that serves the developmentally disabled, in a building housing a conference center that was being used by the county department.

The Los Angeles Times, citing information from a senior federal official who was monitoring the case, reported that investigators believe one of the shooters left the party after getting into an argument and returned with one or two armed companions.

Burguan said he was aware someone left the party following a dispute but did not know whether that individual returned. The chief said he knew of no possible motive for the shooting spree.

Burguan said the manhunt initially led police to a home in the neighboring town of Redlands, and that police pursued a suspected getaway vehicle that was seen leaving that address back to San Bernardino, where the shootout ensued.

Bomb disposal technicians were examining a number of suspicious items left by the armed assailants at the Inland Regional Center, including one that was "believed to be a potentially explosive device."

David Bowdich, an assistant regional FBI director, said federal agents and local law enforcement were being cautious about entering the house in Redlands because of concerns about explosives that might have been left there.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Shooting rampage in California leaves 14 dead, 17 wounded

SAN BERNARDINO, California - Gunmen opened fire on a holiday party on Wednesday at a social services agency in San Bernardino, California, killing 14 people and wounding 17 others, then fled the scene, triggering an intense manhunt and a shootout with police, authorities said.

One suspect was struck by gunfire and one officer was injured, San Bernardino police spokeswoman Sergeant Vicki Cervantes told reporters, adding that a second suspect might still be "outstanding."

She did not know the condition of the struck suspect but said the officer's injuries were not considered to be life-threatening.

San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said in a televised news briefing earlier that as many as three suspects were believed to have made their getaway in a dark-colored sport utility vehicle.

A vehicle matching that description turned up at the shootout with police several hours later, Cervantes.

The police chief said 14 people were killed and 14 others wounded in the initial shooting spree, which unfolded at 11 a.m. on the campus of the Inland Regional Center, an agency that serves the developmentally disabled.

Cervantes later revised the toll of wounded to 17, not including the suspect and police officer who were shot later.

The shooting rampage in San Bernardino, about 60 miles (100 km) east of Los Angeles, marked the deadliest U.S. gun violence since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012, in which 27 people, including the gunman, were killed.

As the suspects fled, authorities ordered a security "lockdown" of all local schools, as well as city and county buildings, and area hospitals were placed on alert, Burguan said. Police searched door to door in the Redlands neighborhood a few miles from the site of the attack.

Burguan said he knew of no possible motive behind the attack.

"We have no information at this point that this is terrorist-related, in the traditional sense that people may be thinking," he added. "Obviously, at minimum, we have a domestic-type terrorist-type situation that occurred here."

He said the suspects were armed with rifles.

The Inland Regional Center is one of 21 facilities set up by the state and run under contract by non-profit organizations to serve people with developmental disabilities, said Nancy Lungren, spokeswoman for the California Department of Developmental Services.

Lavinia Johnson, executive director of the facility, told CNN the suspects opened fire inside a conference building in the complex where a holiday party was being held for county health department personnel.

The conference building sits adjacent to the two larger three-story buildings that house most of the agency's offices at the complex, Johnson said. Asked whether that meant that the Inland Regional Center staff and clients were safe, she said she understood they were being evacuated.

STRING OF SHOOTINGS

So far in 2015, there have been more than 350 shootings in which four or more people died, according to the crowd-sourced website shootingtracker.com, which keeps a running tally of mass shootings.

The shooting in California comes less than a week after a gunman killed three people and wounded nine in a shooting rampage at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In October, a gunman killed nine people at a college in Oregon, and in June, a white gunman killed nine black churchgoers in South Carolina.

Gun control advocates, including Democratic President Barack Obama, say easy access to firearms is a major factor in the shooting epidemic, while the National Rifle Association and other pro-gun advocates say the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees Americans the right to bear arms.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com