'He Was a Great Kid, Now He's Gone': Dublin Man Among VTA Victims

DUBLIN, CA — Jose Dejesus Hernandez II will always remember his son as someone who was fair and who was always looking to do the right thing.

Yet, like others who are left to deal with the loss of nine lives Wednesday in the mass shooting at a San Jose railyard, Hernandez is struggling to cope with the lack of answers of what prompted Samuel Cassidy to go on the shooting rampage that he is accused of by police.

Jose Dejesus Hernandez III, 35, is among those who died in the incident. The Dublin resident worked as a substation maintainer who had been partnered with Cassidy, the Associated Press reported on Thursday. His father, who is a retired Valley Transit Authority worker, told the AP that he was unaware of any issues his son — or other transit employees ­— may have had with Cassidy.

“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,” Hernandez told the AP about his son, who he said loved to tinker with projects and could fix anything. “He was a really good guy, a great kid, and now he’s gone.”

“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.”

The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s office said Thursday that Cassidy reportedly fired gunshots into two different buildings early Wednesday morning. Authorities also discovered three semi-automatic handguns and 32 magazines full of ammunition.

Wednesday's shooting was the deadliest in the Bay Area since a 1993 shooting at a building in San Francisco in which eight people were killed, along with the shooter.

The San Jose-based community organization Working Partnerships USA and the South Bay Labor Council set up a fund to support families of the shooting victims. Donations can be made here.

"We are all profoundly affected by the shooting at the VTA Younger Light Rail station," fund organizers wrote. "Many of you have asked how you can help."

As vigils took place for the victims and families were left to start planning funeral services for their loved ones, they were still struggling to figure out what happened on Wednesday morning as they remembered those who were lost.

“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, the former wife of the 35-year-old Dublin victim told the AP.

Patch editor Megan VerHeist and the Associated Press contributed reporting.