The man who killed nine people yesterday in San Jose had a run in with US customs officials back in 2016, where they found that he possessed “books about terrorism and fear and manifestos…as well as a black memo book filled with lots of notes about how he hates the VTA”:
WSJ – U.S. Customs officers previously detained the man who killed nine people in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday and found that he professed a hatred of his workplace where the shooting occurred, according to a Department of Homeland Security memo.
The shooter, Samuel James Cassidy, possessed “books about terrorism and fear and manifestos…as well as a black memo book filled with lots of notes about how he hates the VTA,” when Customs and Border Protection detained him in 2016 after a trip to the Philippines, the memo says.
“When asked if he had problems with anybody at work, he stated ‘no,’” according to the memo, a copy of which was viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Officers detained and interviewed Cassidy on August 8, 2016, after he returned from a trip to the Philippines and inspected his baggage and electronic media, the memo says. The memo doesn’t say why he was stopped. It notes that Cassidy had a “minor criminal history” and cites a 1983 incident where he was arrested in San Jose and charged with “misdemeanor obstruction/resisting a peace officer.”
The shooting began at a union meeting at a VTA light rail yard in downtown San Jose and all of the victims worked for the transportation authority. Eight people were found dead and a ninth died overnight at an area hospital. Cassidy died in an apparent suicide during the incident, according to law enforcement.
The memo was distributed within DHS sometime after the shooting occurred Wednesday morning. It doesn’t say how long Cassidy was held by border authorities.
Cassidy sexually assaulted his ex-girlfriend over a decade ago and used to talk about killing his coworkers:
Cassidy’s ex-girlfriend said he sexually assaulted her, according to documents she filed in 2009 with the Santa Clara County Superior Court. She said Cassidy had bipolar disorder and “major mood swings” that were exacerbated when he consumed large amounts of alcohol.
She filed the court declaration in response to a domestic violence restraining order Cassidy had filed against her. She denied Cassidy’s accusations.
His ex-wife Cecilia Nelms told the Associated Press that he talked about killing people at work more than a decade ago. She said he would return from work angry over assignments that he perceived to be unfair. The couple divorced in 2005 and Ms. Nelms said they had not been in touch in 13 years.
No motive has been determined yet. Also Cassidy committed the massacre with two handguns:
Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith told reporters Thursday morning that investigators haven’t found any evidence that indicates a possible motive.
Sheriff Smith said Thursday that Cassidy was armed with two semiautomatic handguns and 11 magazines at the time of the shooting. Afterward, bomb-sniffing dogs found explosive materials, but not devices, in a locker believed to be his, she said.
Without knowing more about what was in the books and notes he had back in 2016, it’s hard to say whether they should have done more than detaining him. But it looks like he was at least on their radar and they missed another one.