Community comes together for healing at vigil for VTA shooting victims

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Flags were lowered to half-mast outside San Jose City Hall on Santa Clara Avenue Thursday. VTA bus drivers followed the route past a memorial that honored the lives of their nine co-workers.

The tragedy of the mass shooting one day earlier, prompted even those who didn’t know the victims to stop by and pay their respects.

"It’s horrible. It’s just a big tragedy," said Al Gutierrez. The San Jose resident said he regularly used the light-rail operated by one of the victims, Taptejdeep Singh.

Gutierrez said Singh always greeted him warmly when he entered the light rail.

"He left two kids behind. I have two kids myself. It just hurts," said Gutierrez, who describes himself as a life-long San Jose resident.

Singh is being described by co-workers as a hero because during the shooting, he left the relative safety of an office to help co-workers.

Flowers in hand and a moment of silence was the scene often repeated in front of the memorial throughout Thursday, the day after a gunman committed an unspeakable act on his co-workers.

While mourners strolled by, another display was underway to honor the victims ahead of a vigil to be held in front of San Jose City Hall.

Members of Amalgamated Transit, the union representing VTA workers, were at work setting up a display of flowers and photos of the victims.

Their families are now left with only memories because of what authorities say was the selfish act of another.

"The grim reality is we’re grappling with families who’ve lost loved ones and co-workers who’ve lost good friends," said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, who was outside checking on the memorial in advance of the vigil for the victims.

All nine victims leave behind families and loved ones as their deaths are added to the statistics of an ongoing epidemic that so far, has no cure.