VTA begins demolition of light-rail yard building where 2021 mass shooting occurred

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority crews on Wednesday began demolition of a building at a light-rail yard in San Jose where last year a disgruntled VTA employee fatally shot several of his co-workers before killing himself.

Building B at the Guadalupe Light Rail yard, which began being demolished Wednesday afternoon with the work expected to continue Thursday, is where six of the 10 VTA employees died in the mass shooting on May 26, 2021.

The building, where VTA’s Way Power and Signal teams worked prior to the shooting, has been vacant since then. The employees, who maintain the trackway infrastructure, have worked out of other locations, according to the transit agency.

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MAY 11: Heavy machinery demolishes Building B of the Valley Transportation Authority Light Rail maintenance facility in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. Six shooting victims were killed in Building B and three others in Building A by a coworker on May 26, 2021. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group POOL)

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MAY 11: Burns McDonnell, a project manager for Phillip Stephenson, exits Building B of the Valley Transportation Authority Light Rail maintenance facility during its demolition in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. Six shooting victims were killed in Building B and three others in Building A by a coworker on May 26, 2021. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group POOL)

Agency officials said in a news release that demolishing Building B “will allow VTA to move forward with planning long-term solutions for the yard with a building that meets the maintenance and operation needs of VTA, while supporting the emotional needs of employees who experienced the tragedy that occurred at the light rail facility.”