SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) – “It’s very raw, people are grieving. They’re learning that they’ve lost their husband, their brother, their son, and it’s awful.”
District Attorney Jeff Rosen spoke out about the mass shooting in San Jose at a VTA railyard.
In an interview with KRON4’s Rob Fladeboe, Rosen says he doesn’t know if there’s anything officials could have done to prevent this shooting.
Rosen compared the shooting to similar scenes a couple of years ago in Gilroy. Several people were killed and dozens were wounded.
Rosen says the investigation is active, in terms of figuring out exactly what the perpetrator did, the motive, and whether there were any clues or signs.
“So one thing I’m very interested in, and I know the community is, is were there any warning signs that could have led to intervention by law enforcement or behavioral health or anyone else – that would have stopped a shooting like this from happening?”
There are red flag laws in California, which allow police and the DA’s office to remove guns from someone’s possession if a person is mentally imbalanced or talking about hurting other people.
Rosen says those restraining orders have stopped several mass shooting instances, but it’s unclear if it officials could have done anything differently to prevent this shooting.
“It only takes one incident to kill numerous people.”
Grief counseling, emergency housing assistance, food, and different compensation that the state provides for victims of mass shootings are available for those impacted.
“We have to be perfect in order to stop all of these killings, and we try our very very best. And we do a good job, but we don’t do a perfect job.”
Rosen says that redoubling efforts is the first change his office plans to make. The second is looking to see if there’s anything different law enforcement could have done differently.