A 67-year old suspect was arrested by police. The county sheriff stated that he was “fully cooperating”.
HALF MOON BAY (Calif.) – A gunman shot seven people at two locations in Half Moon Bay on Monday. This shocked a state still reeling from a mass shooting days earlier.
Zhao Chunli (67 years old) was arrested by Half Moon Bay police in connection to the shootings. He was found in his car at a San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Substation in Half Moon Bay, according to the sheriff’s department. There was no ongoing threat to the community.
Sheriff Christina Corpus stated that he was taken into custody “without incident” after which he was “fully cooperating”. She said that investigators believe he acted alone.
According to Capt. Eamonn Allen, from the sheriff’s office, said that investigators have not established a motive. The F.B.I. was working with local authorities. He stated that he had not found any criminal records or incidents at the scene.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, California, wrote on Twitter that he was at the hospital meeting victims of the mass shooting in Monterey Park on Saturday. A gunman shot and killed 11 people in that attack.
Governor Newsom declared, “Tragedy upon disaster.” Newsom said.
Monday’s shootings were held in Half Moon Bay (a small rural town on the coast between San Francisco and Santa Cruz) at 2:20 p.m. These beaches are popular for surfing and the inland mountains house one of the oldest agricultural communities in the state, which employs migrant laborers.
According to the sheriff’s office, at least one of these two locations was a nursery.
“Farmworkers were affected by the incident tonight. Children were present at the scenes of the incidents. “This is a truly heartbreaking tragic tragedy in our community,” San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller stated in a press conference. He also spoke out about the recent storms that have battered the region in recent weeks. “The stress level in this community over the past weeks has been really high.”
The Shooting Locations
By Julie Walton Shaver
According to the sheriff’s department, four people were found dead near Highway 92. A fifth person was also taken from that location to Stanford Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. A mile further on, three more were found dead in the outskirts.
Late Monday, the sheriff’s office stated that it was working with victims to notify their families. Sheriff Corpus stated that all the victims were adults. However, some workers also lived near the scene of one of the shootings with children.
She said, “It happened in the afternoon when children were not at school.” It is unimaginable for children to witness such an incident.
There was no immediate connection between the two places. Sheriff Corpus stated that the police believe the suspect to be a worker at the nursery where the attack occurred. She said that the gunman drove from one location to another and that a semiautomatic pistol was found in his vehicle.
Three police officers pulled the suspect from a maroon S.U.V. and video of the scene shows them doing so. The officers then pulled him from a maroon S.U.V. and handcuffed him while he lay on the ground.
According to the sheriff’s office, the suspect spoke Mandarin but had trouble with English. Capt. Allen said that investigators had brought in a Mandarin-speaking detective to interview the suspect. Allen said.
A nonprofit group transported people from crime scenes to the I.D.E.S. family reunification center. Portuguese Hall is a community center in downtown Half Moon Bay, run by a religious organization.
On Monday night, there were 40 people sheltering there. There were children and older people, as well as one child playing with a German shepherd dog.
Although the identities of the victims are not known, at the very least, one of the shooting scenes was a farm site where workers also lived.
Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher of the California Labor Federation said that many farmworkers are in a vulnerable situation because they are often on temporary visas or undocumented and earn low wages. She added that the United Farm Workers labor union provided emergency assistance in the region after recent floods.
Elizabeth Strater, director for strategic campaigns at the union, said that it was heartbreaking to see families ripped apart while trying to live their lives.
Workers from the group that had taken people to the community center spoke Spanish with some families while a nonprofit organization coordinated supplies. One volunteer asked the police officer at the front door which size diapers were needed.
Sarah Prentice, 31 years old, began crying on her way to the center for blankets. These things don’t happen in your own hometown. Every person I know has known someone who has been killed. This is the type of community it is. It’s small.”
