May 26, 2021 [REVISED]: Nine coworkers murdered at the VTA rail yard
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May 26, 2021: Nine coworkers murdered at the VTA rail yard
At approximately 6:34 AM on May 26, 2021, Samuel James Cassidy — a 57-year-old substation maintainer who had worked for the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) for approximately 20 years — opened fire on coworkers at the Guadalupe Division light rail operations and maintenance yard in San Jose, California. The attack occurred during a morning shift change.
Cassidy used three semiautomatic handguns. He killed nine VTA employees before shooting himself as law enforcement arrived at the scene. The nine victims were: Paul Megia, 42; Taptejdeep Singh, 36; Adrian Balleza, 29; Jose Dejesus Hernandez III, 35; Lars Lane, 63; Timothy Romo, 49; Alex Ward Fritch, 49; Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, 63; and Michael Joseph Rudometkin, 40.
Investigators established that Cassidy had set fires inside his home in Gilroy, California — approximately 25 miles south of San Jose — before driving to the yard. A large quantity of ammunition was found at the burning Gilroy property. A diary recovered from the home documented years of grievances directed at coworkers and supervisors at VTA. Cassidy had also traveled internationally in years prior to the attack, including to the Philippines; investigators found no connection to any broader motive or organization. No restraining orders or formal documented threats against coworkers appeared in his record.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo described it as a horrific day for the city and the VTA. California Governor Gavin Newsom and President Biden both ordered flags to be flown at half-staff. VTA suspended its entire light rail system on the day of the attack.
The San Jose VTA shooting is classified as a workplace grievance shooting: a perpetrator with a sustained, documented (privately) hostility toward a workplace who acted without formal warning signs that would have triggered intervention. The case became a reference point in discussions about red-flag law enforcement, background check scope, and the limits of employer-based threat detection programs.
Also on this day
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Police return Konerak Sinthasomphone to Jeffrey Dahmer — Milwaukee, May 26, 1991 · WikipediaOn the night of May 26, 1991, Milwaukee police officers responding to a disturbance call encountered 14-year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone in an alley — disoriented and partially undressed. Jeffrey Dahmer convinced officers that Sinthasomphone was an adult friend who had drunk too much. In the early morning hours of May 27, the officers returned him to Dahmer's apartment without verifying his identity or age. Dahmer murdered him shortly after. Two officers were later fired; a third resigned. Sinthasomphone was Dahmer's 13th victim.
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NYPD and FBI release psychological profile of the Son of Sam, May 26, 1977 · WikipediaDuring David Berkowitz's active killing spree across New York City — which had claimed six lives and wounded seven — the NYPD and FBI released a psychological profile of the still-unidentified shooter. The profile described a paranoid loner living alone with deep resentment. Berkowitz was not identified until August 1977, when a parking ticket led investigators to him. He pleaded guilty to six murders and received 365 years in prison.
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Green River Killer active in Seattle-Tacoma area, May 26, 1984 · WikipediaGary Ridgway — the Green River Killer — is believed to have murdered a victim in the greater Seattle-Tacoma area on or around this date, during the peak years of a killing spree that authorities failed to contain for nearly two decades. Ridgway was not identified until 2001, when DNA evidence linked him to the crimes. He confessed to 71 murders, making him the most convicted serial killer in U.S. history.
Sources used/checked for this issue
- 2021 San Jose shooting, Wikipedia — "2021 San Jose shooting," Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_San_Jose_shooting
Today in True Crime by Case Bound — 2026-05-26
