The shooting rampage in Half Moon Bay that left seven people dead Monday within the coastal agricultural community in San Mateo County appears to be a case of workplace violence, law enforcement officials said.
“The one known connection between the victims and the suspect is that they might have been co-workers,” San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said at a news conference Tuesday. “All of the evidence now we have points to this being the instance of workplace violence.”
Seven men and one woman were targeted within the shootings, which happened near nursery and farming businesses, Corpus said. The lone survivor was taken to a close-by hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Chunli Zhao is the suspect within the shootings that left seven people dead in Half Moon Bay.
(San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office)
Police arrested the suspect, identified as Chunli Zhao, 67, after he was discovered in his automotive on the San Mateo County sheriff’s substation in Half Moon Bay at about 4:40 p.m. Monday, officials said. Video from KGO-TV showed deputies taking a person to the bottom within the parking zone. The weapon believed to have been utilized in the incident, a semiautomatic handgun, was found inside his automotive.
Zhao, a Half Moon Bay resident, is suspected of opening fire at two rural locations a couple of mile apart, shooting a number of the victims in front of youngsters who lived nearby and had recently been released from school.
Jail records showed the suspect was being held in San Mateo County’s Maguire Correctional Facility. He was booked on charges of premeditated murder and first-degree attempted murder, with a sentencing enhancement of discharging a firearm during a violent felony.
The San Mateo County coroner’s office said Tuesday it had identified two of the victims but declined to release their names or provide more information because it worked to locate the subsequent of kin.
The shootings in Half Moon Bay come after 11 people were killed Saturday night in a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California’s second mass shooting in only three days.
Corpus, the sheriff, told CNN on Tuesday morning that the suspect used a gun that was registered in his name and had legal possession of a semiautomatic weapon.
Investigators are still learning in regards to the suspect, who was not previously known to local law enforcement, Corpus said.
“Here in San Mateo County, he wasn’t a red flag for us, nothing to place him on our radar,” she said. “He was known to the individuals at his workplace because he was employed there.”
In an announcement, President Biden said Tuesday that he and First Lady Jill Biden “are praying for those killed and injured in the most recent tragic shooting in Half Moon Bay.”
“For the second time in recent days, California communities are mourning the lack of family members in a senseless act of gun violence,” he said in an announcement.
Biden said he has “directed my administration to make sure local authorities and the broader Half Moon Bay community have the complete support of the federal government within the wake of this heinous attack.”
The shooting rampage in Half Moon Bay that left seven people dead Monday within the coastal agricultural community in San Mateo County appears to be a case of workplace violence, law enforcement officials said.
“The one known connection between the victims and the suspect is that they might have been co-workers,” San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said at a news conference Tuesday. “All of the evidence now we have points to this being the instance of workplace violence.”
Seven men and one woman were targeted within the shootings, which happened near nursery and farming businesses, Corpus said. The lone survivor was taken to a close-by hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Chunli Zhao is the suspect within the shootings that left seven people dead in Half Moon Bay.
(San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office)
Police arrested the suspect, identified as Chunli Zhao, 67, after he was discovered in his automotive on the San Mateo County sheriff’s substation in Half Moon Bay at about 4:40 p.m. Monday, officials said. Video from KGO-TV showed deputies taking a person to the bottom within the parking zone. The weapon believed to have been utilized in the incident, a semiautomatic handgun, was found inside his automotive.
Zhao, a Half Moon Bay resident, is suspected of opening fire at two rural locations a couple of mile apart, shooting a number of the victims in front of youngsters who lived nearby and had recently been released from school.
Jail records showed the suspect was being held in San Mateo County’s Maguire Correctional Facility. He was booked on charges of premeditated murder and first-degree attempted murder, with a sentencing enhancement of discharging a firearm during a violent felony.
The San Mateo County coroner’s office said Tuesday it had identified two of the victims but declined to release their names or provide more information because it worked to locate the subsequent of kin.
The shootings in Half Moon Bay come after 11 people were killed Saturday night in a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California’s second mass shooting in only three days.
Corpus, the sheriff, told CNN on Tuesday morning that the suspect used a gun that was registered in his name and had legal possession of a semiautomatic weapon.
Investigators are still learning in regards to the suspect, who was not previously known to local law enforcement, Corpus said.
“Here in San Mateo County, he wasn’t a red flag for us, nothing to place him on our radar,” she said. “He was known to the individuals at his workplace because he was employed there.”
In an announcement, President Biden said Tuesday that he and First Lady Jill Biden “are praying for those killed and injured in the most recent tragic shooting in Half Moon Bay.”
“For the second time in recent days, California communities are mourning the lack of family members in a senseless act of gun violence,” he said in an announcement.
Biden said he has “directed my administration to make sure local authorities and the broader Half Moon Bay community have the complete support of the federal government within the wake of this heinous attack.”
