Instead of leaving and rescuing himself when he found out that someone was shooting at his workplace in San Jose, California, 42-year-old Filipino-American Paul Megia allegedly chose to stay and tell his colleagues.
Eight people were killed in a shooting in the light-rail yard of commuter trains at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) last week.
The culprit, who also works for VTA, shot himself when the authorities arrived.
Before the tragedy, Megia, assistant superintendent at VTA, allegedly planned to take a vacation with the children at Disneyland on Memorial Day.
Luci, Megia’s sister, told People.com that they discussed such a vacation plan the night before the shooting.
“The night before this happened, he was so happy and excited,” said Luci.
Megia also plans to retire early so that he can spend more time with his family.
The family created a GoFundMe page to fund the education of Megia’s children.
Filipino who died in California mass shooting considered a hero by his brother
According to reports, when Megia learned that someone was shooting at their workplace, he told his colleagues to be careful.
“He didn’t have to do that. But he did,” said Luci.
“He always just knew how to take charge and take control of the situation,” he added.
“My brother was a hero, and saved a lot of lives,” said Luci.
According to Luci, Megia was taken to the hospital when the authorities arrived, but he died due to a severe bullet wound.
This is the latest incident of a deadly mass shooting in America.
“A horrible tragedy has happened today, and our thoughts and love go out to the VTA family,” according to Glenn Hendricks, chairman of the VTA board, at a news conference held after the incident.
In March, eight people were killed, including six women of Asian descent, in a shooting at several spas in Atlanta.
This was followed by a shooting incident at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, that killed ten people.
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