People mourning the loss of nine VTA workers killed in a mass shooting in San Jose last week have found some comfort thanks to chaplains.
More than a dozen chaplains from across the country have traveled to San Jose to console strangers, the victims' family members and even the first responders who answered the call last Wednesday morning.
"We’re not here to fix them. There’s no way we can fix them," said Steve Ballinger, a chaplain with the Billy Graham Organization. "But we want them to know that they’re not alone in this. And we got some pretty good ears. We got a big shoulder that they can cry on if they need to."
John Trites of San Jose said the chaplains offer meaningful help.
"This is real pleasing," he said. "This gives you comfort."
Diane Chavez agreed.
"They’re lifting people up from what happened," she said. "It's really hard to imagine something like this to happen. But, at the same time, she’s lifting people up, which helps a lot."
Meanwhile, investigators on Tuesday spent another day digging into the history of the shooter. They still are not saying anything about what set the attack in motion.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.