One of the victims in the San Jose rail yard shooting Wednesday reportedly alerted co-workers of the shooter’s presence and helped them escape, The Mercury News reported.
Taptej Singh was an employee of the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). He died during the San Jose shooting that also killed eight other victims. The suspected shooter was identified as 57-year-old maintenance worker Samuel Cassidy. Cassidy committed suicide, according to The Mercury News.
Singh, a father of a 3-year-old boy and 1-year-old girl, helped lead others to safety, the family member said. Singh reportedly left the building where he was safely hiding with other colleagues to go to the aid of others. At some point after leaving the building, Singh encountered the gunman in a stairwell where he was subsequently shot to death, according to The Mercury News Report.
“We are in very deep grief,” said Taptej Singh’s uncle, Sakhwant Dhillon. “He told people, ‘be careful, hide.’ He was running around the building to save others’ lives. He was a good person. He helped everybody.” https://t.co/cVvnbDVVhM
— Mercury News (@mercnews) May 27, 2021
Singh’s family was notified of his death Wednesday evening, and were seen crying and hugging at the Red Cross Center in San Jose, The Mercury News added.
Taptej Singh, 36, was a Sikh father who leaves behind a wife & two small children. He was seen trying to save others from the gunfire and died in a stairwell. This is the second time in 6 weeks Sikhs are mourning loved ones killed in gun violence. #SanJoseShooting photo: @nytimes pic.twitter.com/xl01AI4LNA
— Valarie Kaur (@valariekaur) May 27, 2021
Sakhwant Dhillon, Singh’s uncle, told The Mercury News, of the family’s “very deep grief,” and attested to his nephew’s heroism. “He told people, ‘be careful, hide.’ He was running around the building to save others’ lives,” Dhillon said.
“He was a good person. He helped everybody,” he added.
Singh’s brother, Bagga Singh, said someone told him Taptej “put a lady in a control room to hide.”
Bagga added that he wished his brother “saved his life, too.”
“We lost a good person,” he said, according to The Mercury News.
Bagga Singh, the cousin of one of the victims reacts to today’s mass shooting. His cousin’s name is Taptejdeep Singh from Union City. pic.twitter.com/6Pe7NVE7rg
— Lyanne Melendez (@LyanneMelendez) May 27, 2021
P.J. Bath, Signh’s brother-in-law also works as a light rail operator.
“He was always helpful to everyone and caring,” Bath claimed.
Bath also told The Mercury News that Paul Megia, Singh’s supervisor, was “telling the other employees to take cover,” before Megia was shot and killed as well.