The man accused of killing four people at a California mushroom farm and three more at a neighboring location on Monday was an employee of the farm, according to San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus.
The murders are the second in three days to involve Asian American victims and suspects in California. Corpus stated that the victims in San Mateo County were either Asian or Hispanic. The United States has had 39 mass shootings this month, more than any other January on record.
Half Moon Bay Shooting Suspect
While the motives for the Half Moon Bay murders remain unknown, they are similar to the Monterey Park massacre. According to CNN, the authorities said that here is where 72-year-old Huu Can Tran shot and killed 11 people during Lunar New Year celebrations.
Both instances involve the Asian American community. According to the Rockefeller Institute of Government, the shooter or suspect in each case is of Asian heritage and significantly older than the 33-year-old average age of mass shooting perpetrators.
In San Mateo County, Chunli Zhao was arrested around two hours after the initial call to police when he was parked at a sheriff's department carrying a semi-automatic weapon, according to the sheriff.
Officers in San Mateo County discovered four bodies and one injured person at a mushroom farm. Minutes later, three more bodies were found near a trucking company two miles away in Half Moon Bay, according to county officials.
Authorities described the deceased as five adult males, two adult females, and the injured one as a male being treated at a trauma facility. In a press release, the sheriff's office stated that Zhao was a "co-worker or former co-worker" of each gunshot victim.
The suspect, described by investigators as a "disgruntled worker," was apprehended two hours later when he was observed sitting in his car in front of a local sheriff's station.
As the agricultural community reels from the double attack, which is thought to have occurred in front of children, many concerns remain, including who Zhao is and what may have driven him to go on a shooting spree.
Chunli Zhao, 67, spent decades working at one of the two locations in the Half Moon Bay area where the shooting occurred on Monday - Concord Farms or Mountain Mushroom Farm. Concord Farms released a statement on Tuesday stating that the shooter was unknown to the company, suggesting that Mountain Mushroom Farm employed Zhao, The Independent reported.
Dave Pine, president of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, said that Zhao was a "disgruntled worker" at the farm but provided no other information. On Monday, just before 2:30 p.m., seven people were shot and murdered at two agricultural business locations: a mushroom farm and a trucking operation.
According to officials, the shooter shot and killed four victims, injured a fifth at the Mountain Mushroom Farm, and then shot and killed three more victims at Concord Farms, situated around two miles away.
The eighth victims were transported by helicopter to a hospital. Their current status is unclear. Investigators continue to identify which shooting occurred first. Numerous youngsters are said to have witnessed the horrific incident since many agricultural employees reside on the property with their families.
Sheriff Christina Corpus of San Mateo County stated at a press conference that Zhao was discovered two hours later sitting in his car in the parking area of a substation. Dramatic footage shows the man being pulled to the ground before being arrested by armed cops.
The video, obtained by Half Moon Bay resident Kati McHugh, shows three cops with their firearms drawn approaching a parked automobile. The suspect exits the vehicle as cops drag him to the ground, arrest him, and bring him away.
Officials stated that a semi-automatic weapon suspected to have been used in the mass shooting was discovered in his vehicle. The sheriff said they are operating on the assumption that the suspect turned himself in at the police station. However, this has yet to be confirmed. Zhao is reportedly cooperating completely with law police.
The sheriff called the incident "horrific," stating, "It's a tragedy that we hear about far too frequently, but tonight it has struck close to home in San Mateo County."
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California Gun Violence
The Half Moon Bay tragedy is one of three mass shootings in the state over the past three days, following a slaughter at a ballroom dancing club in Monterey and a shooting at a gas station in Oakland, where eight people were slain.
Thousands of Asian-Americans gathered at Monterey Park on Saturday night to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year. Huu Can Tran, 72, visited the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park and started fire hours later.
Eleven individuals were murdered in the incident; the death toll increased from ten to eleven on Monday, when another victim succumbed to their injuries. Tran then drove to a second dancing school, the Lai Lai Ballroom in nearby Alhambra, where a courageous employee could seize a pistol from him.
The shooter exited the site, and no one was hurt during the second incident. A massive manhunt was started to find the gunman, culminating 12 hours later in a standoff in Torrance, some 30 miles from Monterey Park. In his white vehicle, Tran died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The cause of this crime remains unknown. However, it had come to light that the perpetrator, Tran, was paranoid that his family had attempted to poison him decades before and had reported these suspicions to authorities weeks before he went on a shooting spree.
Additionally, Tran met his ex-wife at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio. The couple separated in 2006. Hours after the Half Moon Bay massacre, a kid was murdered, and seven others were injured in a third mass shooting at a gas station in Oakland.
According to the Oakland Police Department, the incident occurred at a Valera gas station at Seminary Avenue and Macarthur Boulevard shortly after 6 p.m. on Monday. At least eight persons were shot in the event, with 18-year-old Mario Navarro recognized by his family as the fatal victim. The remaining seven patients were in stable condition and are anticipated to survive.
The police have not confirmed the circumstances that may have led to the incident, but their preliminary investigation indicates that many parties may have traded gunfire. Witnesses said that the incident occurred as a music video was being filmed.
After discovering that Navarro, who had just graduated from high school this year, had died from his injuries, the victim's distraught family members were spotted sobbing outside Highland Hospital.
The Oakland Police Department has not said if any arrests have been made or whether they are pursuing any suspects. Local leaders condemned the incident, the third mass shooting in California in as many days.
Governor Gavin Newsom was visiting with the victims of Saturday's deadly shooting in Monterey Park when he learned about the incident in Half Moon Bay.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden issued a stern statement on Tuesday morning regarding the "senseless act of gun violence" that claimed the lives of seven people in Half Moon Bay the night before - the second mass shooting to occur in California within days. After at least 18 people were slain between the two heinous murders, the White House encouraged Congress to raise the minimum age for purchasing an assault weapon to 21.
After the "heinous attack," Biden said he is providing federal support to Half Moon Bay's local leaders and the larger community, as per Daily Mail. As part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, a federal prohibition on selling more than a dozen assault-style weapons was in place from 1994 to 2004.
Those who previously had such weapons were not required to surrender them. However, research indicates that the frequency and chance of mass shootings decreased during this time.
Related Article: Half Moon Bay Shooting Death Toll
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