Seven folks had been killed and one critically wounded in a mass capturing at two mushroom farms within the metropolis of Half Moon Bay on Monday afternoon, CBS Bay Area reviews. A suspect turned himself in, authorities say.
It was the second California mass capturing in three days and was adopted hours later by one more.
The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office says deputies had been dispatched to the Magic Mushroom Farm after a report of a capturing with a number of victims.
Deputies discovered 4 our bodies with gunshot wounds, the workplace stated, and a fifth sufferer, additionally affected by gunshot wounds, was hospitalized with life-threatening accidents.
Deputies then raced to a close-by second capturing scene — Concord Farms, additionally a mushroom farm, the place three extra folks had been discovered lifeless, the sheriff’s workplace stated.
While it wasn’t clear whether or not the 2 farms had been related, the suspect was described as a disgruntled worker who labored at considered one of them.
Half Moon Bay Vice Mayor Joaquin Jimenez stated the victims included Chinese and Latino farmworkers.
At one level late Monday afternoon, the sheriff’s workplace stated a media staging could be held at a substation between the 2 farms. At round 4:40 p.m., a person carrying a white baseball-style cap was seen being led away from the substation in handcuffs.
According to the sheriff’s workplace, the suspect within the shootings drove himself to the substation and surrendered. CBS Bay space cameras had been there:
The suspect was recognized as 67-year-old Zhao Chunli, a Half Moon Bay resident. The weapon used within the shootings was present in his car, the sheriff’s workplace stated.
Authorities later stated they believed the weapon — a semiautomatic rifle — was the one weapon used within the capturing however they could not say whether or not it was obtained legally.
A household reunification heart that was arrange was additionally getting used to offer shelter to households who dwell in residences which might be too near the crime scenes to permit them to return house.
“This kind of shooting is horrific,” San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus remarked at a press convention Monday night. “It’s a tragedy we hear about far too often, but today it’s hit home here in San Mateo County.”
The motive for the capturing wasn’t instantly identified.
It got here solely two days after a mass capturing in Monterey Park after a Lunar New Year Festival Saturday night time left not less than 11 folks lifeless. Later on Monday, not less than one particular person was killed and 7 others wounded in a capturing at an Oakland gasoline station, authorities stated.
On Jan. 16, a 16-year-old mom and her 10-month-old child had been amongst six folks shot to dying in what the native sheriff referred to as a “massacre” at a house in California’s Central Valley.
Nestled alongside the Northern California shoreline, Half Moon Bay is a quiet agricultural bed room neighborhood most well-known for its annual pumpkin pageant and the Mavericks huge wave browsing competitors.
Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted concerning the newest mass capturing in his state, saying he was visiting victims from the Monterey Park capturing within the hospital when he was pulled away and instructed about what occurred in Half Moon Bay.
“Tragedy upon tragedy,” the governor noticed.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted that President Biden had been briefed on the Half Moon Bay capturing and “has asked federal law enforcement to provide any necessary assistance to the local authorities.” The FBI confirmed it’s aiding the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office with “investigative and forensic resources.”
“This is an enormous tragedy. When any of us think of Half Moon Bay, it’s always a happy, pleasant thought. It’s the home of the pumpkin festival. It’s the Mavericks surfing competition. But today, it’s murder. Seven precious lives lost,” Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) stated in an interview with CBS News Bay Area. “We don’t understand why. We are grateful the sheriff’s department has the suspect in custody. But this is the shattering of the lives of seven families and it’s my understanding that one person has been taken to Stanford Medical Center for treatment and I understand it’s serious.”
Eshoo additionally stated officers are bringing in Chinese and Spanish interpreters to speak with the households of the victims in Half Moon Bay.
“We are sickened by today’s tragedy in Half Moon Bay,” Dave Pine, president of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, stated in an announcement. “We have not even had time to grieve for those lost in the terrible shooting in Monterey Park. Gun violence must stop.”