San Jose mass shooting: Ex-girlfriend of suspect Samuel Cassidy alleged rape

[SouthBayDem]

San Jose mass shooting: Ex-girlfriend of suspect Samuel Cassidy alleged rape and violent, alcohol-fueled 'mood swings'

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

The Valley Transportation Authority employee suspected of fatally shooting eight coworkers Wednesday morning before turning the gun on himself had been accused by an ex-girlfriend of raping and abusing her, often during violent “mood swings,” court records show.

Samuel James Cassidy, 57, dated the woman after an earlier divorce. His ex-wife told The Chronicle he would constantly complain about co-workers getting easier assignments at the VTA’s maintenance yard, where the shooting occurred. She said she was relieved when their marriage ended in 2004, because his temper had become explosive.

Court records and interviews paint a picture that is familiar in the U.S., according to experts and studies: a white male mass-shooting suspect with a history of domestic violence toward women.

(snip)

The ex-girlfriend filed the court declaration in response to a domestic violence restraining order that Cassidy had filed earlier that month. She denied Cassidy’s accusations against her and alleged he had major “mood swings” as a result of bipolar disorder, which worsened when he drank large amounts of alcohol.

(snip)

Cassidy tried to force anal intercourse on her several times, she wrote. She would fight him off, and he would later apologize and promise to never do it again, she said. She recounted another such incident in September 2008, when she said he pushed her on a bed and forced her to have sex with him.

Full story: https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/article/San-Jose-mass-shooting-Ex-girlfriend-of-suspect-16205562.php

[Blue Owl]

1. The GOP says...

“This troubled soul needs a gun...”

[Archae]

2. People he knew said he would go through those mood swings.

He divorced in 2005, and lived pretty much alone.

I live alone, (except for my cats,) been doing so my whole life. (I'm 61 now.)

And I've never had an urge to kill.

Sure I've been angry at times, but never had the urge to kill.

[cinematicdiversions]

20. But you are not Bi-polar NT

[littlemissmartypants]

3. This needs laser focus. Domestic violence episodes are a harbinger of mass shootings.

When will law enforcement and social services get a clue about this?

I'm not going to hold my breath on LE because domestic violence seems to have a safe home there, unfortunately.

But SOMEBODY, please start a task force or something!!!

Court records and interviews paint a picture that is familiar in the U.S., according to experts and studies: a white male mass-shooting suspect with a history of domestic violence toward women.

This is well researched and documented. Why is no one acting on the science?

[SheltieLover]

4. +1,000!

Toxic masculinity!

You are correct in calling for a task force.

This guy belonged in custody, whether a prison cell or psych ward.

[littlemissmartypants]

5. Exactly!!!

Thanks for the support, SheltieLover. ❤

[SheltieLover]

8. Yw, Lmsp!

When will our society stop coddling anti-social behavior?

[littlemissmartypants]

10. I wish I had an answer to your question. Maybe in our lifetime.

We can hope.

[SheltieLover]

11. 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

People who cannot live in civilized society belong in cages not perpetrating acts of violence!

[littlemissmartypants]

12. I don't know what you put in the title line. It looks like seven boxes with x's in them.

I can't see the emoji for some reason...

I'm hopeful about a lot of things but having violent women haters out free to buy firearms and kill people is something that I will never get behind. If incarceration is what it takes, so be it.

❤

[lunatica]

6. Or on medication

[littlemissmartypants]

7. I vote for both. nt

[SheltieLover]

9. Both

Because noncompliance would result in a return to violent behavior.

[Thunderbeast]

13. You clearly don't understand current law relative to commitment

Unless an individual is an IMMEDIATE THREAT to himself or others, they can NOT be held for mental health treatment. They can not be forced to take medications.

"Immediate threat" does not mean might, maybe, or could someday. It means that a violent act is imminent and unambiguous.

It is easy to say that mentally ill people should be "locked up". In our society, the mentally ill (even those clearly unable to care for themselves) live on the streets. We use "civil liberties" as an excuse to not pay for expensive hospitalization or rehab.

[Scrivener7]

14. Seriously? How about people who rape? Since that's what is being talked about.

[Thunderbeast]

17. I am speaking to the notion of pre-emptive commitment.

Of course, violent criminals, who have been convicted through the courts should face consequences.

I am speaking to the often cavalier notion that mentally ill folks should have been hospitalized before a crime was committed.

[yardwork]

15. I can tell you that some LE are well aware of the connection.

But in the United States we provide very little, if any, mental health care for most people. And our country is awash in guns with virtually zero control.

Until communities and voters start demanding change, this will continue. And many voters are going in the opposite direction: more guns, less reality-based education, less health care.

These mass killings are a symptom of our society's illness.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

16. Oh, cops know. They just don't care.

[malaise]

18. When will law enforcement and social services get a clue about this?

A large number of law enforcement personnel are themselves domestic violence abusers so don't expect them to pay attention.

[cinematicdiversions]

21. The problem is well meaning mental health advocates block a common sense approach.

We often hear that the mentally ill are more likely to be victims of violent crimes, yet when incidents like this come to the for invariably there is a clear case of mental illness that was ignored.

Too many people that are a danger to themselves and others are allowed to interact with the general population because the pendulum has swung too far in that direction.

[MarcA]

22. Agreed.

Anger, resentment even erratic behavior is one thing. Making threats and acting on them is quite another. This guy had a history of such behavior.

[greenjar_01]

19. Dude was 40 in 2004 - he's been a real piece of work his entire adult life