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San Jose shooting: Footage shows gunman calmly loading duffel bag into car before deadly attack

Neighbour says gunman seemed ‘strange’ and ‘lonely’

Harriet Sinclair
Thursday 27 May 2021 17:10 EDT
Neighbor of VTA gunman describes the odd interactions he had with the suspect

Footage shared by a neighbour of suspected San Jose shooter Samuel Cassidy shows the man calmly loading a duffel bag into his car on the morning of the deadly attack.

KPIX obtained video from Doug Suh, whose security camera showed Cassidy leaving his home and packing his car. Mr Suh told Mercury News that Cassidy seemed “strange” and “lonely”.

“I’d say hello and he’d just look at me without saying anything,” he said.

“One day I was backing out of his driveway and he yelled at me, ‘Don’t even go on my driveway!’ After that, I never talked to him again.”

The railway technician opened fire at his workplace Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), killing eight people before taking his own life. Authorities confirmed that a ninth victim had died in hospital following the attack.

Following the mass shooting, Cassidy’s ex-wife told the Associated Press that he had fantasised about killing his colleagues, but that she never believed he would go through with it.

In an interview with CNN-affiliate The Bay Area News Group, Cecilia Nelms said: “He had two sides. When he was in a good mood he was a great guy. When he was mad, he was mad.”

Cassidy had reportedly expressed frustration with his workplace during his 10-year marriage to Ms Nelms, commenting that he was unhappy with some assignments and coworkers.

According to one witness, the gunman “was targeting certain people”.

“He walked by other people,” VTA worker Kirk Bertolet commented to CNN affiliate KGO. “He let other people live as he gunned down other people.”

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