Multiple sources tell ABC News the Molotov cocktails were completed but did not explode. Authorities said they don't know why the suspect had the volatile concoctions.
The suspect, 57-year-old VTA employee Sam Cassidy, set fire to his home on Angmar Court before the shooting. When firefighters arrived on the scene, no one was inside the home. Authorities are investigating if the Molotov cocktails were placed in the house to accelerate the fire.
RELATED: Families share touching memories of VTA shooting victims during San Jose City Hall vigil
Thursday night hundreds of people showed up outside San Jose City Hall to remember the nine victims in Wednesday's VTA mass shooting.
Family members stood and told stories about their loved ones.
Fathers, wives, and children all dealing with loss. So many now left without a dad.
"My nephew and my niece they're not gonna have a father, they're three and one. They're going to ask where their father is, nobody can bring them back nor can I, nor can anyone else," said Tagtejdeep Singh's younger brother Carmen.
"My father's name was Timothy Romo. My name is Audrey, I'm his daughter. My dad was the smartest and funniest man I know," said Timothy Romo's daughter Audrey.
"He was my hero and my idol, everything I ever wanted to be as a man and he led by example in everything he did," said Romo's son Scott.
RELATED: These are the 9 victims of the VTA attack
On Thursday, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office has released new surveillance video showing the moment after the shooting took place at the San Jose railyard.
The video shows the suspect walking away from a building where he shot multiple coworkers and towards another area where he would kill more victims, according to authorities.
Law enforcement agencies announced the suspect had a long history of dissatisfaction with his employer.
He was once stopped by Customs and Border Protection while returning from the Philippines in 2016, sources tell ABC News. He was stopped and searched because he was carrying books about terrorism and manifestos, according to three sources familiar with the investigation. CBP found he was also carrying a notebook that detailed hatred of his workplace, the Valley Transportation Authority.
The man appears to have targeted some of his victims, according to the Santa Clara Sheriff's Department.
"We can say that the suspect has been a highly disgruntled VTA employee for many years, which may have contributed to why he targeted VTA employees," the sheriff's department said in a statement.
A witness who survived the shooting told ABC7 News that from his vantage point, it looked like the gunman didn't fire indiscriminately. Rather, he let some people live and chose to kill others.
The shooter had talked about killing people at work more than a decade ago, his ex-wife said.
"I never believed him, and it never happened. Until now," a tearful Cecilia Nelms told The Associated Press Wednesday following the 6:30 a.m. attack at a lightrail facility for the VTA.
"When our deputies went through the door, initially he was still firing rounds. When our deputy saw him, he took his life," Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith told reporters.
The gunman had three semiautomatic handguns and 32 high capacity magazines, according to the sheriff. He fired 39 rounds inside. A locker at the rail yard believed to be the gunman's contained "materials for bombs, detonator cords, the precursors to an explosive," Smith said.
The number of people fatally shot by the gunman rose from eight after the Santa Clara County's medical examiner-coroner late Wednesday confirmed the death of Alex Ward Fritch, 49. He had been wounded and hospitalized in critical condition after the attack.
VIDEO: EXCLUSIVE: VTA mass shooting witness describes 'mass of bodies,' says gunman had specific targets
Officials have identified all of the victims. Among them is a 36-year-old father of two and a longtime friend of a San Jose councilmember.
No one else was injured in the massacre at the rail yard and all of the victims who were shot have died, Sheriff Smith said.
The first calls from the VTA facility came in at 6:34 a.m. The shooting was in the area of 100 W. Younger Avenue at a VTA control center and railyard, where light rail cars are stored. The building is not open to the public, so the shooter would have needed employee access or to have broken in, said VTA spokesperson Brandi Childress.
At the time of the shooting, there was a union meeting going on with about 80 people in attendance.
When law enforcement arrived on scene, multiple people had been shot in two separate buildings, the sheriff's office said, and the shooting was ongoing. About 40 people were rescued from inside by multiple law enforcement agencies who responded to the scene.
RELATED: What we know about suspected VTA railyard shooter Sam Cassidy
The sheriff's office told ABC7 News Thursday that VTA employees at this location had been through active shooter training within the last year.
Deputies didn't fire their weapons, Davis said, leading them to believe the gunman died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
During their investigation, bomb sniffing dogs flagged officers to potential explosives, prompting them to clear the building. Law enforcement expects to be on scene through the night thoroughly searching the building. Bomb squad technicians were also searching the suspect's home for explosives Wednesday. Ammunition and cannisters were found at the suspect's home and sources tell ABC News he had multiple weapons.
EXCLUSIVE: Suspected VTA shooter's ex-girlfriend says he was 'mentally not stable'
"This is every mayor's worst nightmare," said Mayor Liccardo.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who arrived in San Jose Wednesday afternoon called the tragedy part of a "pandemic of gun violence."
"There's a numbness I imagine some of us are feeling about this because there's a sameness," Newsom said. "It feels like this happens over and over and over again. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat."
He urged leaders to "wake up to this reality and take a little damn responsibility" and to "move beyond the platitudes and usual rhetoric."
Concerned and distraught family members started to gather at the reunification site as word got out. Several people told ABC7 News they weren't able to reach loved ones by phone. One person was trying to use Apple's "Find My iPhone" feature to track down a family member. They saw the iPhone was on and in the building, but wasn't moving.
RELATED: VTA rail yard, Gilroy Garlic Festival among deadliest mass shootings in Bay Area history
VTA has suspended all light rail service indefinitely. The agency added bus bridges to ensure continued service.
"The light rail yard remains an active investigation scene, limiting our ability to provide service," the agency tweeted.
A fund has been set up to support victims' families. For information on how to donate, click here.
Take a look at the latest stories and videos about the mass shooting at the VTA rail yard in San Jose.
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ABC7 News staff contributed and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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