SAN JOSE — They will not be forgotten.
That was the message poignantly delivered Thursday night during a solemn vigil in downtown San Jose honoring the nine men killed in the Bay Area’s largest ever mass shooting early Wednesday morning in a San Jose VTA light rail yard.
Hundreds of mourners gathered in San Jose City Hall Plaza to pay their respects to the victims and call for an end to senseless violence.
Among the crowd were dozens of VTA employees dressed in work attire and family members of those who had lost a loved one.
“These aren’t names to us. These are people we know and we love and we see every single day of our working lives. It really, really hurts down to the very core of our souls,” said John Courtney, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265, which represents VTA workers. “So please, ATU, let’s do what we do, stand for each other, by each other. Let’s love each other.”
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo began the vigil, after a rendition of Over the Rainbow played over the speakers, slowly reading off the names of the nine victims — Paul Delacruz Megia, 42; Taptej Singh, 36; Adrian Belleza, 29; Jose Dejesus Hernandez III, 35; Timothy Michel Romo, 49; Michael Joseph Rudometkin, 40; Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, 63; Lars Kepler Lane, 63; and Alex Ward Fritch, 49.
A moment of silence followed, then remarks from elected officials, VTA representatives and religious leaders — and finally, words from those most affected, the family members of the nine men who lost their lives.
“We’re here to share our pain, to share our love and to share our support for each other in the difficult road ahead,” Liccardo said. “Here in Santa Clara County we grieve together and, more importantly, we will heal together.”
Megia’s wife, Nicole, who addressed the crowd toward the end of the vigil, said she “never thought in a million years” thought she would be standing on a podium, looking out at the crowd in front of her.
“God took my best friend, my husband, too soon and I’m wishing I could give him one last hug,” she said.
Singh’s brother, Karmen, told the families of the other victims that he knew what they were going through and he was there for them.
“Whatever we can do, we need to support each other going forward,” he said. “Show the unity — regardless of race or color or where we come from — that we stand together and that these things won’t occur ever again and nobody has to lose their loved one.”
Annette Romo, the wife of Tim Romo, fought back tears to pass along one final simple message to the crowd: “Never leave your home without giving your loved one a kiss goodbye,” she said, “because that was the last I got.”
Some attendees in the crowd added flowers to a small memorial set up at the front of the plaza, which included candles and photographs of the victims. Others wore shirts with the victims photos or brought posters with messages like “Stop the Hate.”
Though they aren’t officially part of the VTA family, Jenna and Steve Naylor, of Campbell, felt the loss deeply. Attending the vigil along with their two sons, Benjamin, 4, and Louis, 3, the Naylors carried makeshift signs that read “we love VTA.”
During the pandemic, the Naylors would go on almost daily walks from their home to the downtown light rail tracks to see the “choo choos,” as their sons called the trains.
When photographs of the victims were released late Wednesday and Thursday, the Naylors said in an interview that they thought they recognized one of the men as a train conductor who regularly honked and waved at the family as he went through downtown Campbell.
“I think it just hit home, because they (her sons) love that so much,” Jenna Naylor said. “We’re trying to explain to them that you’ve got to make good choices and be kind to people. It’s just so sad.”
San Jose City Councilmember Raul Peralez, who lost a close friend in the shooting, acknowledged the large number of VTA employees in the crowd Thursday night, drawing a large round of applause.
“We need to offer the help and assistance and embrace our struggling peers, coworkers, family members, loved ones,” he said. “Tragedy and violence like this doesn’t get solved by more violence. It gets solved with love.”
Staff writer Jason Green contributed to this report.
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