An ex-girlfriend of the San Jose shooter said he was violent and experienced severe mood swings

• An ex-girlfriend of the San Jose shooter said he was violent and experienced mood swings.
• "Several times during the relationship he became intoxicated, enraged and forced himself on me sexually," she wrote.
• The accusations came during a March 2009 court fight over a restraining order.

The man who shot and killed nine people at a rail yard in San Jose on Wednesday had faced previous accusations of domestic violence, according to court records reviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Samuel Cassidy, 57, set his home on fire before driving to a union meeting of workers at the Valley Transportation Authority, the Bay Area public transit agency where he too was employed. After opening fire, Cassidy turned one of his two semi-automatic handguns on himself, investigators believe.

In a March 2009 declaration, an ex-girlfriend of the shooter said he was often violent with her, the Chronicle reported. "Several times during the relationship he became intoxicated, enraged and forced himself on me sexually," she wrote.

His former partner described him as experiencing "mood swings" that became worse with alcohol.

As Insider has previously reported, it is common for the perpetrators of mass shootings to have a history of violence against intimate partners.

Those convicted of domestic violence are barred from buying guns under federal law. But in this instance, the allegations against the shooter came in the context not of a criminal prosecution but in a legal response to a restraining he himself had taken out against an ex-girlfriend.

In a statement on Wednesday, President Joe Biden argued the latest mass shooting should compel lawmakers to change US gun laws.

"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 said.

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