San Jose shooting victim helped others to safety, family says -- plus what we know about 8 others killed
The nine victims were shot by another employee early Wednesday morning at a San Jose rail yard
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Taptejdeep Singh, one of nine victims killed by a shooter who opened fire at a Northern California rail yard on Wednesday morning, helped others get to safety before he was murdered, according to a report.
"He told people, ‘Be careful, hide,’" Singh’s uncle, Sakhwant Dhillon, said, according to The Mercury News of San Jose. "He was running around the building to save others’ lives."
Dhillon said the family was in "very deep grief."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Singh, 36, had a wife, a 3-year-old son and a 1-year-old daughter.
His family said he worked in a separate building from where most of the killing happened and coworkers told his family he had left a safe place to help hide others. Singh was killed in a stairwell by suspected shooter Samuel Cassidy, 57, who police said fatally shot himself as officers arrived.
Singh was working the early shift as a Valley Transportation Authority light rail operator when Cassidy opened fire in the San Jose light rail facility.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}SAN JOSE GUNMAN'S MOTIVE REMAINS MYSTERY AFTER WORK SITE'S ‘WHOLE SHIFT’ KILLED
"He was a good person," his uncle said. "He helped everybody."
San Jose Councilmember Raul Peralez wrote on Facebook that his good friend Michael Joseph "Mikey" Rudometkin had been killed in the shooting.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"There are no words to describe the heartache we are feeling right now, especially for his family," Peralez wrote in the post. "Eight families are feeling this same sense of loss tonight and our entire community is mourning as well."
The ninth victim, Alex Ward Fritch, 49, was announced after dying in a hospital Wednesday night.
Peralez said he had been planning a golf reunion with Rudometkin and Peralez’s father, The Mercury News reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rudometkin’s mother, Rose Rudometkin, said her son was "passionate" about his job and said he was a "wonderful son, brother, loving husband, uncle, cousin and friend to many. He would give his last penny and shirt off his back. Anyone could call him for help and he’d be there," KPIX-TV of San Francisco reported.
She said he had graduated from Evergreen College cum laude and was a youth minister and pastoral council member at a local church.
The oldest victim, Lars Kepler Lane, 63, was just three days shy of his birthday. His family told FOX 40 of Sacramento he was a husband, father, grandfather and a brother.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Adrian Balleza, 29, was married with a young son, Facebook posts about his death said, according to KPIX-TV.
Another post called Paul Delacruz Megia, 42, "a ray of sunshine," KPIX reported. "My heart is broken for your kids and family. Rest easy and thank you for the memories," the post read.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jose Dejesus Hernandez III, 35; Timothy Michael Romo, 49; and Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, 63, were also killed in the shooting.