Dear NHUSD Staff and Families,
We are all saddened by the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) rail yard shooting that occurred in San Jose yesterday. I learned today that one of the victims is from Union City and a member of the local Sikh community: Mr. Taptejdeep Singh. Mr. Singh’s younger brother, Karman Singh, who is a James Logan High School graduate class of 2009, released the following statement today on the family’s behalf:
“We are beyond devastated by the loss of Taptejdeep, a beloved father, husband, brother, son, and nephew. He was a wonderful person who was committed to serving others at work and in his free time. We take some measure of comfort in what we have learned from eyewitnesses and others: Taptejdeep spent his final moments trying to keep others safe. From what we have heard, he reacted quickly to get colleagues into secure offices, and was frantically calling others who would have been coming in for a shift change to warn them about the shooter. We understand that he was attempting to secure his building when he was killed. Even in these moments of chaos, Taptejdeep was living by the core values of Sikhi faith, living in service and protection of others. We believe that if the shooter had ever asked our brother for help, Taptejdeep would have gone above and beyond for him like he did for everyone he crossed paths with; he never harmed anyone, and no one who knew him would ever want to harm him. We choose to remember Taptejdeep as the hero he was, both in those final moments and throughout his life of service.”
Board President Sarabjit Kaur Cheema expressed her deepest condolences for this devastating community loss. “My family has known Taptej and his family in many ways, since they moved to Union City in 2004. The pain and loss are real and deep. Family and the local community had high hopes for Taptej Singh. Taptej was a local unsung hero, but we remember him as a real hero now for preventing more loss of lives in the San Jose mass shooting.”
More about Mr. Singh can be found in this San Jose Mercury News article.
Our thoughts and condolences go out to Mr. Singh’s family, to the Sikh community, and to those who knew him.
Sincerely,
John Thompson, Ed.D.
Superintendent
