Suspect, victims dead after shooting at San Jose public transit facility

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) -- A shooter is dead after opening fire and killing multiple people at a Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority railyard on Wednesday morning, Nexstar's KRON reports.

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo tweeted the shooter is "no longer a threat" and several people are being treated.

Santa Clara County sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Russell Davis said that he could not specify the number of dead and wounded or describe how the suspect died. Officials did confirm the shooter was a man.

The shooting took place at a light rail facility that is next door to the sheriff’s department and across a freeway from the airport. The facility is a transit control center that stores trains and has a maintenance yard.

“A horrible tragedy has happened today, and our thoughts and love go out to the VTA family,” VTA Chairman Glenn Hendricks told a news conference.

VTA trains were already out on morning runs when the shooting occurred. Light rail service was to be suspended at noon and replaced with bus bridges, Hendricks said.

A reunification center for employees and families has been set up.

The VTA provides bus and light rail service to Silicon Valley and connects with several other public transit services in the region.

The Guadalupe Yard is located off of West Younger Ave, near N San Pedro St. The sheriff is asking people to stay away from the area.

KRON reporter Camila Barco said several roads are blocked off and there are multiple police vehicles, as well as the San Jose Fire Department.

Outside the scene, Michael Hawkins told The Mercury News that he was waiting for his mother, Rochelle Hawkins, who had called him from a co-worker’s phone to assure him that she was safe.

When the shooting started, “she got down with the rest of her coworkers” and dropped her cellphone, Michael Hawkins told the newspaper. Rochelle Hawkins did not see the shooter, and she was not sure how close she had been to the attacker, her son said.

At a news conference, San Jose Mayor Sam Licardo lamented the “horrific day for our city.” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a tweet that his office was “in close contact with local law enforcement and monitoring this situation closely.”

Special agents from the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were responding to the crime scene, officials said.

This is a developing story. More details will be added as they become available. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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