At least 8 killed in San Jose shooting

President Biden will order the flags to be flown at half-staff following today's mass shooting at a light rail yard in San Jose, California.

Biden said in a statement that it’s the fifth time he’s done so following a mass shooting in America.

“Once again, I urge Congress to take immediate action and heed the call of the American people, including the vast majority of gun owners, to help end this epidemic of gun violence in America," he added.

Earlier today, Vice President Kamala Harris told CNN the shooting was “absolutely tragic.”

Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith described the scene that deputies encountered when they entered the VTA light rail yard in San Jose, California, this morning.

She said the first teams that entered the building were members of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office and the San Jose Police Department.

"There was active shooting going on at that time," Smith said. "There were victims shot in two separate buildings. But they responded the way that they should. They took their life in their hands. And I know for sure that when the suspect knew that law enforcement was there, he took his own life. Our deputies were right there at that time."

The sheriff said the shooting involves a "very complex investigation," which also includes the San Jose Police Department. Police are investigating a fire at a home that is believed to be that of the gunman, a source close to the investigation tells CNN.

Smith went on to say that sheriff's officials are also working to identify the victims.

Deputy Russell Davis, Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office spokesperson, said that investigators believe the suspected shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

He said the deputies who responded to the scene did not exchange gunfire with the suspect.

 Officials are providing an update on the investigation.

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Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the San Jose shooting that left at least eight victims dead this morning, calling the attack “absolutely tragic.”

President Biden was briefed on the shooting by Homeland Security Adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall. The White House told reporters it “continues to monitor the situation and remains in close contact with local officials to offer any assistance as needed.”

Biden has yet to release a statement on the shooting.

A house that erupted in flames in San Jose at around the same time officers responded to a mass shooting at a Valley Transportation Authority facility is believed to be the home of the gunman, a source close to the investigation tells CNN.

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said in an interview with CNN affiliate KGO earlier that a fire was reported at the home of the gunman, though he did not specify the location.

“That is certainly the information that I have, is that there was a fire at the shooter’s home, there was nobody found inside the home, thank God,” Liccardo said.

Firefighters responded to a fire at the home in the 1100 block of Angmar Court in San Jose at 6:36 a.m. local time, according to tweets from the San Jose Fire Department. The first 911 calls about the shooting at the VTA facility roughly 8 miles away began at 6:34 a.m., sheriff’s officials said.

Video, shot by a neighbor, showed a home with smoke pouring out as firefighters respond to the blaze.  

The neighbor, Duk Kyun Suh, started recording the video early on during the fire. In it, firefighters appear to be just arriving on scene. 

It took firefighters about an hour to extinguish the two-alarm fire that caused heavy damage to the home and left the structure uninhabitable, the fire department said.

Asked about the house fire at a news conference, Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said the San Jose Police Department was working on that part of the investigation.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, and no injuries were reported, according to Erica Ray, spokesperson for San Jose Fire Department.

President Biden has been briefed on a mass shooting in San Jose, where at least eight people were killed when a gunman opened fire at a public transit rail yard.

“The President has been briefed on the mass shooting and the tragic loss of life in San Jose by his Homeland Security Adviser, Liz Sherwood-Randall. The White House continues to monitor the situation and remains in close contact with local officials to offer any assistance as needed,” the White House told pool Wednesday.

What we know: The suspect, a male employee of the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), is dead, authorities said. He has been identified as Sam Cassidy, a law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation confirmed to CNN.

Police also received information about explosive devices inside the transit building, which the bomb squad is investigating, he said.

The shooting occurred in the VTA rail yard — not the operations control center — at a time when light rail was starting up for the day, VTA Board Chairperson Glenn Hendricks said. The yard is where the VTA vehicles are maintained and dispatched.

A law enforcement source with knowledge of the San Jose mass shooting investigation confirms to CNN that the shooter has been identified as Sam Cassidy.

In a news conference earlier today, law enforcement and city authorities said the shooter was dead and that he was a VTA employee.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas kicked off his remarks before a Senate panel Wednesday expressing thoughts and prayers for the families of the victims of the San Jose mass shooting. 

“The Department of Homeland Security is confronting serious complex and dynamic threats to the security of our nation on a daily basis," he added.

Principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did not say whether or not President Biden has been briefed on today's deadly shooting in San Jose, California, instead saying that the White House is "monitoring the situation.”

She said that while all the details of the shooting are not yet known, it’s the latest example of what the President has called an “epidemic of gun violence.”

“We still don't know all of the details, but what’s clear, as the President has said, is that we are suffering from an epidemic of gun violence in this country, both in mass shootings and in the lives that are being taken in daily gun violence that doesn't make national headlines,” she said. 

“That's why he has already taken an initial set of actions on gun violence that will save lives, and that's why he's calling on Congress to take action, including calling on the Senate to pass the three bills to strengthen background checks that have already cleared the House with bipartisan support, and which have the overwhelming backing of the American people,” Jean-Pierre added.

Earlier today, a gunman opened fire at a public transit rail yard in San Jose, California, causing multiple casualties and fatalities, Deputy Russell Davis of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said.