were other people injured and not just those who perished in this shooting and this is sheriff lori smith. >> they are my true heroes and there is an active shooting going on at this time and there were victims shot at two separate buildings but they responded the way they should have and they took their life in their hands and i do know for sure that when the suspect knew the law enforcement was there, he took his own life. >> reporter: now, we have learned from sheriff smith there was an explosive dog in that initial deployment of deputies inside the vta building and that explosives dog keyed on something inside the building and they are now looking for multiple devices inside the vta building. this is a process that will take hours if not days and it is a very large facility and they are going to scrape every portion of this with a find tooth comb to make sure they don't put anybody else in danger and they're talking about bringing an extra bomb dogs from alcohol tobacco and firearms and talking about ringing in bomb robots to disable whatever may be in there and that is before they ca

sheriff lori smith describes the first onsite interaction. >> the suspect talked to the union person.aid i'm not gonna shoot you or words to that effect and then started shooting other people. >> reporter: she says he had three semiautomatic handguns, 32 high-capacity magazines and that he fired 39 rounds inside. still no motive identified. sources confirm cassidy was detained by border officials in 2016 while returning from the philippines. this was uncovered in a homeland security memo, first reported by the wall street journal in. it they described finding book about transcribism on cassidy and a personal notebook that expressed how much he hated the v, it a. >> any active shooter investigation that is one of the first things that we're trying to determine. what is the motive, was there any ideology behind it. we do not have a motive for this. >> reporter: the special agent says there are about 50 federal agents assisting with this investigation. these are teams coming from quantico, l.a., sacramento and san francisco. he says evidence collection will continue the next several days

sheriff lori smith said cassidy was carrying three semi automatic handguns and 32 high- capacity 12 round magazines. investigators still do not have a motive. >> we know that he killed 9 people. i have no reason to believe he would have stopped there. perhaps if we had not been there. i never know. we will probably never know. we are doing search warrants right now on his home where there was the fire. his cell phones and everything, we will try to see if we can piece together with witness and victim statements and coworker statements. what was this guy all about. >> the sheriff said six minutes elapsed from the first 911 call that came into the sheriff's department to the point where they were already confronting the suspect in the buildings behind me. she said the quick work of the santa clara county sheriff deputies as well as san jose police who were on scene as well and teamed up to go into the buildings. it certainly prevented more lives from being lost because of the extra ammunition that this shooter had during the mass shooting yesterday here in san jose. >> the response time was

sheriff lori smith describes the first onsite interaction. >> the suspect talked to the union person. said i'm not gonna shoot you or words to that effect and then started shooting other people. >> reporter: she says he had three semiautomatic handguns, 32 high-capacity magazines and that he fired 39 rounds inside. still no motive identified. sources confirm cassidy was detained by border officials in 2016 while returning from the philippines. this was uncovered in a homeland security memo, first reported by the wall street journal in. it they described finding book about transcribism on cassidy and a personal notebook that expressed how much he hated the v, it a. >> any active shooter investigation that is one of the first things that we're trying to determine. what is the motive, was there any ideology behind it. we do not have a motive for this. >> reporter: the special agent says there are about 50 federal agents assisting with this investigation. these are teams coming from quantico, l.a., sacramento and san francisco. he says evidence collection will continue the next several da

we know that lori smith saying that, while shots were still being fired, they were already entering the building to get in there and extricate people. also noting that the sheriff also pointed out the fact their bomb-sniffing dogs alerted on something. that's what they're learning with x-ray and technology to go after those. and what you just heard dan talking about, this house fire, mayor liccardo talking to our affiliate kgo, just say they do believe there is something that has to do with this house, and that nobody was inside of that house, that they're now investigating. this other part of that investigation, all of this happening while, again, the most important people thing, people want to know where their loved ones are. for the president of the valley transportation authority, just lynn to what he has to say. >> a horrible tragedy has happened today. our thoughts and love go oat to the family, the organization and what they've had to go through. i could not be more proud of the organization. as i drove here, i saw buses out on the road. as i said, this is a horrible tragedy that

. >>> which has got an update on the investigation from the santa clara county sheriff, lori smith. >ave team coverage covering all the angles of the story still developing today. >> you are watching abc7 news live on abc7 and wherever you stream. >>> we know that nine people have died as a result of that shooting. santa clara county sent out an update that another man died last night. there is a vigil planted city hall at 6:00. at 10:00 this morning we expect an update from vta. at the railyard and at the shooter's home. we are live at the railyard with the latest information coming directly from the santa clara county sheriff. >> reporter: good morning. the sheriff gave us enough date on the weapons and explosives found here in the search for emotive. you can see behind me that this area is roped off with crime tape. they are here gathering evidence, and they expect to be here at least all of today. for the first time we have heard about the guns that were found. two semi automatic pistols and 11 magazines ammunition. they don't appear to have been modified. she thinks he plan to ke

sheriff lori smith describes cassidy on-site interaction. >> the suspect talk to the union person andi'm not going to shoot you and says shooting other people >> he has five automatic handguns, 32 magazines and he fired five rounds inside. cassidy was detained by border officials and toys 2016 while returning from the philippines. this is a, and a helmet can remember. in it, officials describe pending books about terrorism and a personal normally the discussed how much he hated the vta very is what is the motive and was the ideology behind it? we do not have a motive for this. >> reporter: special agent fair says there are about 50 federal agencies and services investigation. teams, for want to" la, san francisco. he says evidence collection will continue for the next several days. >>> hundreds of people morning to the outside of town how last night to the lives as last after the shooting. that is where we find reporter amy hollifield. amy? >> reporter: this is still a crime scene. there is still crime tape blocking off this area was as long have we are sent to hear more story five hu

>> i don't know at this point if it is inside or outside. >> i'll pass it off to sheriff lori smith toirst to do is tell everyone that my heart goes out to the victims. these were county employees and we're doing we can to help them including the family reuniany case center but i want to commend the law enforcement in santa clara county. several years ago, the sheriff's office with the county fire department began a series of trainings for active shooter and that training has happened throughout the county with law enforcement and higher agencies and why that differs is that at the time there's an active shooter as soon as we can get a team together we go in. the first teams were the sheriff's office and san jose police department and they're my true heroes. there was active shooting going on at that time. tlmp victims shot in two separate buildings. but they responded. they responded the way that they should. they took the life in their hands and i know for sure that when the suspect knew the law enforcement was there he took his own life. our deputies were right there at that time. s

it's a little tough to hear justin right there but we were listening to the santa clara sheriff lori smith as she was talking about the investigation. investigators will probably be in the facility for the next couple days collecting evidence and trying to finish their search on the building. she did talk about the weapons used, two semi automatic pistols. there were 11 magazines found. >> nearly a dozen found. my heart sank when i learned that the employees just went through a training exercise with the sheriffs office to learn how to react when something like this happens. fast forward, it really happens. >> it really happens. they had just trained for that. we are going to continue our coverage of this and give you more de >>> on kpix5 and streaming on cbsn bay area, nine dead after gunfire rings out at vta il yard. thorningsearch for a motive continues. we are live with the investigation now entering its 23rd hour. >>> we are learning more about the last moments of some of the victims of yesterday's vta shooting and some of the moments were heroic. i will tell you about those just ahea

sheriff lori smith says the alleged shooter turned the gun on himself as law enforcement entered the building. >> authorities now say eight victims were killed across multiple locations on the property. according to the sheriff deputies came in as the shots were still being fire. >> they know that is their job to put their selves -- their life on the line to save other people. i think we had a a lot of officers who are heroes. >> a employees said the shooting took place during the busiest time of the day at the corporation yard as operators and maintenance workers were preparing for the start of the days service. the mayor was in shock over the tragedy but urged for action to be taken. >> a lot of people are suffering right now. families have lost loved ones. colleagues have lost friends and we will really need to come together and help support each other. >> fire officials responded to a fire at the alleged suspects home not too long before the shooting. the governor spending some time this afternoon with the victims families. >> to those who lost their lives and the families who lo

sheriff lori smith said the alleged shooter turned the gun on himself as law enforcement entered the building. authorities say 8 victims were killed across multiple locations on the property.the p. according to the sheriff deputies came in as shots were being fired. >> they know that is their job to put their life on the line to try to save other people. i think we have a lot of officers who are euros today. >> a vta employees that it took place during the busiest time of the day at the corporation yard as operators and maintenance workers were preparing for the start of the days service. the mayor was in shock over the tragedy but urged for action to be taken. >> a lot of people are suffering right now. families have d es. colleagues have lost friends. we will need to come together. >> officials responded to a fire at the alleged suspects home not too long before the shooting. gov. gavin newsom rushed to the bay to be with families of the victims. >> what is going on in the united states of america? what is wrong with us? when are we going to come to grips with this? when will we pu

sheriff lori smith says authorities found explosives at sam cassidy's home.y believe they were timed to go off just as the shooting happened at 6:45 yesterday morning. firefighters have also reported smelling gas when they arrived at the scene and we saw gas canisters being brought out today. >>> today, leaders with vta held an emotional press conference to remember the nine victims. >> i saw that aftermath and i saw the immense pain in the faces of the families and i heard their cries when they got the news and it was utterly heart-wrenching. >> can't even imagine. here are the victims' faces. some of them had been with vta for more than 20 years. they work as light rail train drivers, maintenance workers and substation managers. they range in age from 29 to 63 years old. they were brothers, husbands, fathers, and grandfathers. more from the railyard. >> reporter: frank, the train yard of course remains sealed off as a crime scene. we know it is a painstaking investigation, spread over a large area. vta trains remain halted and the reality is sinking in. >>

. >> sheriff lori smith revealing more information about a gunman who took the lives of his coworkers wednesday morning. witness accounts are painting a picture of samuel j. cassidy as an angry loner. >> he has been described to me as being a disgruntled employee. he didn't like anybody and nobody liked him. >> reporter: smith said samuel j. cassidy fired shots killing nine people before taking his own life. smith said he carried more firepower than investigators first thought. >> there were three handguns located where he killed himself . located in his duffel bag or backpack and in the surrounding areas we found a total of 32 magazines. these were 9 mm. >> reporter: before the shooting, the sheriff said there was a brief exchange with a union representative who came by the railyard for a visit. >> the suspect talked to the union person and said i am not going to shoot you over its to that effect and started shooting other people. >> none of our family members from vta -- on the extended family didn't deserve this punishment. >> reporter: employees pay tribute to their fallen coworke

santa clara county sheriff lori smith saying earlier today that the gunman, sam cassidy, fired 39 shotsted some of his victims, passing by some people and then firing at others . he was armed with three handguns we learned today and 32 magazines of ammunition. the bomb squad found bomb making materialss not yet been known. >> what is happening in this world? i don't know. i don't know if we will ever find a motive or the suspect. >> sheriff smith also says that investigators have warrants out for emails and text messages related to the gunman cassidy. >>> the ninth victim from yesterday's shooting died last night at the hospital. his name is alex ward fritch. his wife was there by his side as he took his last breaths. ktvu's frank mallicoat shares her heartbreaking story. >> he literally was my best friend. if you did not see us together, people would be like weight, where is the other one? >> reporter: tara fritch is still in disbelief. her husband alex, her partner for 20 years, was killed in yesterday mass killing at the san jose vta. >> alex was everything to this family. he was our

sheriff lori smith says he was armed with two semi automatic handguns and 11 magazines. he does not have any major criminal record in santa clara county, but in 2009, an ex- girlfriend accused cassidy of being mentally, physically and sexually abusive. she spoke with kutv asking we not reveal her identity appears >> he hurt me so much. i got hurt. he was mentally up and down. >> reporter: that woman told kutv cassidy complained about his coworkers and bosses and called the job stressful . >> without a doubt, too much work, too stressful. i felt bad. i feel sorry. so crazy, right? he killed so many people. that is crazy. i feel sorry about the people who died. >> reporter: police are searching cassidy's phone records and emails to get more information about why he carried out this deadly attack. alyssa harrington, ktvu fox 2 news. >>> four sonoma county's have reached a multimillion dollar settlement with pg&e over the kincaid fire. the cities of hillsboro, cloverdale and santa rosa have reached a joint $31 million settlement over damages caused by the 2019 wildfire. the

just a few seconds ago we saw the santa clara sheriff lori smith actually walk back towards the scene with several other deputies as well as public information officer. unclear exactly what the sheriff is maybe going to look at or who the sheriff is going to talk 20, but we will be working to find out those details. meanwhile, there are a lot of details trickling in about what happened here yet at the vta facility. sheriff's officers kwon fronted the suspect and he turned the gun on himself, no shots exchanged between the sheriffs and suspect. and he knew where his co-workers would be, and this is a heartbreaking sound, because he went room to room and victims were found in two different rooms. we're learning more about the weapons used. he two semiautomatic handguns and also he had 11 magazine rounds. now, there are two different scenes here, and i know we're going to go into the second one in a little bit with jake ward. but here at the vta facility, bomb-sniffing dogs actually picked up on a locker that investigators now believed belong to the shooter and they found precursory mate

we have new information from the sheriff of santa clara county, lori smith.er in this case had three semiautomatic handguns, originally we were told two. the number is now three. and that the shooter also had 11 magazines and each of those magazines could carry 12 rounds, and that is considered a high-capacity magazine, and those are currently banned in the state of california. so some updates that we're learning about the shooter here. we know that when officers came here yesterday and ran toward danger, that shooter was still firing shots, went from building to building because the victims were found in two different buildings. he worked here. he knew where people were, where he could inflict the most damage. the sheriff's office is right next door. police is down the street. and so there was a very quick response. but, of course, so much damage and tragedy done in such a short amount of time. at the same time that that shots fired call was taking place here, about a ten-minute drive away at the shooter's home, neighbors were calling in reports of a fire. a

by my eyes, i think i saw sheriff lori smith out here trying to get information, but i can't confirmt because she was a bit of a distance away. we do know that the san jose fire department is here also just in case they are needed. laura? >> i don't mean to interrupt you there, but i do have some new information. according to sources there are multiple fatalities in this active shooter situation as well as mayor sam la carto just tweeted out that he has confirmed that there have been people injured as well. we don't know how many at this point -- i'm trying to get out this -- he just tweeted out, just moments ago, and i lost it on my screen here, but he did confirm that there are people that are being treated at this point from this active shooter situation that we have near downtown san jose at this point. we'll continue to follow the very latest. chris, what are you seeing from that area there? >> well, that is the difficulty, right? we get information from all of these different sources, but we have to confirm it and be responsible and as you mentioned sam lacardo, that's accordin

this is still active, ongoing and what i'm going to do is route this over to our sheriff, lori smith,briefly and move on to the next person. >> sergeant, the eighth, does that include the gunman? >> it's eight victims and one suspect. nine altogether. >> there's nine? >> eight casualties from victims and one suspect casualty at this point as well. >> is there a second -- >> the building that they're at is the valley transportation authority control center. that's where they're at at this point. >> there's a fire scene? >> it's ongoing. we're trying to gather that information. >> there was ammunition found? >> i don't know. i'm going to route this over to sheriff smith. she's going to speak briefly. >> first of all, this is an active investigation. there's many, many components that we're continuing to discover. we mentioned some unification center. it's in the building next to us. please have respect for the victims' families right now. there's still a lot to be done. we appreciate san jose p.d. was with us immediately into -- going into the building. our teams shows exemplary behavio