Victims of San Jose mass shooting recalled as loving, kind-hearted, heroic

Samuel Cassidy, the man who authorities say gunned down nine people in a railyard

Jesus Hernandez, 35, could fix anything, loved his hobbies and lived life with zest, according to his family.

The Dublin, California, resident was a substation maintainer who had been partnered with Samuel Cassidy, the man who authorities say gunned down Hernandez and eight others, said his father, Jesus Hernandez II, a retired Valley Transportation Authority employee. He said he was not aware of issues Cassidy may have had with his son or others.

“He was somebody who was so fair. A very, very fair person and always leaning to the right side of things, always looking for the right thing to do,” said Hernandez, crying at times in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press. “He was a really good guy, a great kid, and now he's gone.”

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“I feel really sorry for all those families, because these things aren't supposed to happen. I feel sorry for the family of even the person who did this thing,” he said.

Jesus Hernandez's former wife, Sarah, said waiting to find out what happened Wednesday was torturous. She tried to channel her former husband's logic and calm.

“I just tried to be very logical and think, Thousands of people work there, there's no way, let's just wait to hear and not get worked up, I'm sure he's fine, I'm sure he's on scene and he can't have his phone,' ” Sarah Hernandez said.

Taptejdeep Singh

Taptejdeep Singh, 36, called another Valley Transportation Authority employee to warn him about Samuel Cassidy, saying he needed to get out or hide.

“He told me he was with Paul (Delacruz Megia), another victim, at the time,” coworker Sukhvir Singh, who is not related to him, said in a statement. “From what I've heard, he spent the last moments of his life making sure that others — in the building and elsewhere — would be able to stay safe.”

Singh's co-workers also told his family that he left his office where people were hiding to warn others. He was shot when he ran into the gunman in a stairwell, his uncle Sukhwant Dhillon told local media outlets.

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Bagga Singh said his cousin lived in Union City, California, and had a wife, two small children and many family members. He joined the VTA in 2014 as a bus operator trainee and later became a light-rail operator.

Singh said he has no idea why the gunman targeted his cousin.

Family members waited for hours at a Red Cross center Wednesday, hoping to learn Singh had survived. Eventually, someone from the sheriff's department delivered the sad news.

“It's unbelievable,” Singh said.

Paul Delacruz Megia

Paul Delacruz Megia, 42, always had a smile on his face, no matter what was thrown his way, a colleague at the transit agency told a news conference Thursday.

Light rail superintendent Naunihal Singh said he shared an office with Megia, an assistant superintendent who started with the agency in 2002.

“Even if he disagrees with you, he'll take it with a smile,” Singh recalled. “Sometimes my demands could be unreasonable, but Paul always accepted it with a smile.”

Adrian Balleza

Adrian Balleza, 29, was kind-hearted and the type of colleague who tried to make work fun for his co-workers, a Valley Transportation Authority colleague told a news conference Thursday.

Balleza joined the VTA in 2014 as a bus operator trainee and then became a maintenance worker and light-rail operator, said Glenn Hendricks, chair of the authority's board.

Alex Fritch

Alex Fritch, 49, died at a hospital late Wednesday, surrounded by his children and parents, said his wife, Terra Fritch of San Jose.

“He was our rock, my safe place to fall. He was the love of my life,” Fritch told KTVU-TV.

The couple got married after having known each other for just six months and had been together 20 years. They were supposed to travel to Hawaii next September to renew their vows, she said.

“He always tried to look on the bright side of things. He loved Mr. Rogers. He watched him all the time. He loved the documentaries. He loved movies," she said.

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Fritch said she raced to the hospital after learning he had been shot. She said hospital staff moved him over in his bed so she could lie down with him.

“Alex was really fighting hard. He didn't want to go anywhere, and I didn't want him to go," Fritch told the station.

Abdolvahab Alaghmandan

Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, 63, had been with the Valley Transportation Authority for 20 years and was dedicated to his job, his son Soheil Alaghmandan, 33, told the Mercury News in San Jose.

“He worked overtime. He worked through the entire pandemic,” Soheil said of his father. “He's a tinkerer. He can fix anything.”

When Megan Staker moved to San Francisco from Des Moines in 2018 with her boyfriend Soheil, he took her home to meet his parents, Alaghmandan and Firoozeh Davallou, at their Castro Valley home, she told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Right away Abdi, as Alaghmandan was known, “became like a second father to me,” Staker told the Chronicle. “He brought so much joy and laughter to our lives.”

“He was stolen from us,” Staker said. “Our hearts are broken forever.”

Michael Joseph Rudometkin

San Jose Supervisor Raul Peralez said he and his father were already planning another golfing outing with their longtime friend, Michael Joseph Rudometkin, 40.

“Now that will never happen again," Peralez posted on Facebook. “My family and I have lost a long time great friend and there are no words to describe the heartache we are feeling right now, especially for his family. Eight families are feeling this same sense of loss tonight and our entire community is mourning as well."

Lars Kepler Lane

Lars Kepler Lane, 63, joined the Valley Transportation Authority in 2001 as an electro mechanic and then became an overhead line worker, said Glenn Hendricks, chair of the VTA's board.

Timothy Michael Romo

Timothy Michael Romo, 49, was an overhead line worker at the Valley Transportation Authority for 20 years, said Glenn Hendricks, chair of the VTA's board. (AP)