Alex Ward Fritch, 49, was killed on May 26, 2021, in the mass shooting at the Valley Transportation Authority light rail yard in San Jose, California. Fritch worked as a substation maintainer and had been employed by the VTA for about nine years. He was one of nine VTA employees shot during an early-morning union meeting; he was taken to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in critical condition and died later that day.

The gunman was a fellow VTA employee, Samuel Cassidy, who reportedly had displayed volatile behavior and had been the subject of multiple complaints from coworkers prior to the attack. Fritch’s wife, Terra Fritch, described him as the family’s rock and a loving father. The shooting prompted scrutiny of workplace safety, employee complaints, and security at the facility, and families filed lawsuits seeking accountability.