Ex-girlfriend of San Jose shooter accused him of rape and violent booze-fueled 'mood swings': report

On Wednesday, the San Francisco Chroniclereported that the former girlfriend of the man identified as the gunman at the San Jose rail maintenance yard testified in a sworn declaration that he had raped and abused her, often during "mood swings" fueled by alcohol consumption.

"In a harrowing sworn declaration in March 2009, the woman, who was 45 at the time, described a volatile on-and-off relationship with Samuel James Cassidy, 57, that lasted about a year and ended on that Valentine's Day when she refused to engage in anal sex with him," reported Matthias Gafni, Susie Neilson, and Alexei Koseff. "Cassidy said he would travel to Monterey with his then-girlfriend, where she had booked a getaway for the pair, but only if she acquiesced to his sexual desires, the woman wrote. The Chronicle is not naming the woman because she is an alleged victim of sexual assault."

Analysis has shown that mass shooters very often have a history of violence against women.

The armed rampage killed eight Valley Transportation Authority employees, plus the shooter himself. CNN reported that dogs may have also detected explosives on the scene and a robot has been sent to search.