‘Hoarder situation’ hampering search of suspect’s home – Everett Post

Everett

(SAN JOSE, California) – Unexploded but finished Molotov cocktails were found in the charred house in San Jose, California. Mass shooting suspect Samuel Cassidy reported on ABC News from multiple sources.

It’s unclear why Cassidy had the homemade explosives, the sources said. He may have intended them to hasten the fire at his home, which was reported minutes after the shooting. The devices did not explode.

San Jose Fire Department spokeswoman Erica Ray said Friday that the search of Cassidy’s home was being hampered by “severe” damage to the now “uninhabitable” residence. The fire seemed to be burning quickly, she added.

San Jose police spokesman Steve Aponte said a “hoarder situation” had further hampered the search.

Aside from the Molotov cocktails, a bomb squad found a suspicious package at Cassidy’s house on Friday, but it was determined that the package was just wires and batteries, not another potential bomb, Aponte told ABC News.

The authorities still have no motive as to why Cassidy, an employee of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, allegedly shot nine men at the VTA city train station on Wednesday morning.

The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office described him as “a very disgruntled VTA employee for many years” and said that “may have contributed to why he targeted his colleagues”.

VTA employee Kirk Bertolet told ABC News that Cassidy was a loner who “was never part of the group”.

Thirty-nine shots were fired, authorities said.

Cassidy died at the interchange, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was found on the third floor of the building.

Three semi-automatic handguns and 32 high-capacity magazines were found at the site of the shooting, officials said Thursday. The suspect was found dead with two semi-automatic handguns and eleven ammunition magazines nearby, authorities said.

The guns are believed to have been legally purchased and not modified, Santa Clara County’s sheriff Laurie Smith said Thursday.

There were magazines that could hold up to 12 bullets, which are illegal in California, authorities said. There was no indication that these were modified for fast shooting, Smith said.

FBI special agent in charge, Craig Fair, told ABC News Thursday that investigators had received surveillance footage detaining the gunman who entered the building prior to the incident. FBI agents are working on five crime scenes on the site and will digitally map them to recreate the shooting, he said.

Bertolet, a clerk, was in a safe room at the transportation hub when gunfire rang out. He said he felt helpless listening to the gunshots. When the shooter moved into another building, Bertolet said he ran to help his friends and colleagues, but they were already dead.

Bertolet said he believed the shooter targeted his victims and spared others. He said the shooter looked at one of his employees who curled up on the floor but did not shoot them.

“She was right among everyone else,” he said.

After the shooting, a police dog discovered a suspicious device and a bomb squad began to evacuate every room in the facility, authorities said. The explosives have since been traced back to the suspect’s locker, where, according to Smith, authorities found precursors for building explosives, but no actual devices. Similar explosives were also found in his home, Smith said Thursday.

Given the schedule of 911 calls – one active shooter was reported at 6:34 a.m. and the fire at Cassidy at 6:37 a.m. – authorities believe the suspect set a device to ignite the fire. Smith said there is no information to link any other suspect to the fire.

The place of origin for the fire has not been determined.

Aside from one arrest in the 1980s for a “minor” incident, authorities said no other criminal history is known for the suspect.

Cassidy was interviewed by Customs and Border Protection in 2016, three sources familiar with the probe told ABC News.

He was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials when he returned to the U.S. from the Philippines in August 2016. He allegedly had books on terrorism and manifestos with him, which was the reason for the stop.

Cassidy also reportedly carried a notebook in which he wrote about his apparent hatred of his job, according to sources familiar with the matter. This development was first reported in the Wall Street Journal.

A Homeland Security spokesman declined to comment on the details of the case, citing the ongoing investigation, but said in a statement: “Under the direction of the secretary [Alejandro] In Mayorkas, the DHS launched a department-wide review in February that included efforts to ensure law enforcement personnel had the tools and training to identify indicators of behavior related to targeted violence and measures to improve information sharing with our partners. “

ABC News’ Kaylee Hartung, Alex Stone, Luke Barr and Jack Date contributed to this report.