VTA riders remember shooting tragedy and workers one year later

SAN JOSE, Calif. - It’s been one year since nine VTA employees including the gunman were killed in a mass shooting in San Jose. People in the community said they remember that tragic day and how their loss has impacted everyone.   

There had been moments of silence and ceremonies throughout the day to honor those killed and San Jose City Hall was lit Thursday night in white, dark, and light blue, the colors for VTA.  

"Yeah, it is scary. I mean I literally work right there at that building on the corner, and I was there when it happened," said Stacy, a VTA rider.   

Stacy said she would not forget that fateful day. She said she has an eight-year-old son and the recent school shooting in Uvalde, TX made it even more difficult to talk to him about the gun violence and how anyone could fall victim to it.  

"You never know where it could happen. It could be across the street, anywhere, in the store. It’s sad, you never know," Stacy said.   

San Jose’s Mayor Sam Liccardo tweeted this video message, asking the community to come together.  

"Today we take back a small piece of what was taken from us. Turn a day of mourning into one of remembrance and honor. Let’s take a moment together to honor those we have lost and their grief-stricken loved ones" Liccardo said. 

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VTA, city, and county leaders also held memorials and vigils on Thursday. 

"It only gets harder when you continue to hear that the kind of incident that happened to us is still happening to other people around this country. We’re trying to heal the best we can," said Stacey Hendler Ross, Public Information Officer for Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. 

Although gun violence or mass shootings can happen anywhere, another VTA rider said he never wants anyone else to experience what happened in San Jose last May.   

"I just hope it doesn’t happen to anybody I care about. I’ve lived my life, you see I got some gray. So it is what it is. It’s a shame. I don’t want to die like that but, it’s possible," the rider said.  

As the families and the community try to go on, the city of San Jose has designated May 26th as a Day of Remembrance.