HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (KGO) — Officials on Tuesday morning said the mass shooting at two mushroom farms in Half Moon Bay that killed seven people and injured one was likely workplace violence.
The San Mateo County Sheriff and District Attorney held a press conference where they said it’s still unclear what specifically led to the shooting.
They are still working to identify the victims, but say there are seven men and one woman and all are of Asian and Hispanic descent.
The coroner notifies the family, which has been difficult as some of the victims are migrants.
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Chunli Zhao, 66, of Half Moon Bay, was arrested in connection with the incidents and taken into custody on Monday.
Zhao worked at one of the mushroom farms and investigators believe it was workplace violence. However, it is still unclear what Zhao’s connection to the victims was beyond being colleagues.
San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe provided some additional information, telling ABC7 that based on Zhao’s statements, they don’t believe it was a hate crime.
“He made several hour-long statements last night in this building here, and while I won’t go into the statement, I will say that it mitigated for us any idea that this was a crime hate,” Wagstaffe said. “It wasn’t a hate crime, it was just, as the sheriff’s body said, a workplace dispute.”
San Mateo Co Sheriff Christina Corpus said he was using a purchased and legally owned semi-automatic pistol.
Zhao is due to make his first court appearance tomorrow, but the charges have not been officially announced.
He was not known to the police before the shooting.
The district attorney said it was the highest death toll in a mass shooting ever in San Mateo County.
The shootings were reported at Mountain Mushroom Farm on San Mateo Road off Highway 1 and at Concord Farms off Cabrillo Hwy S. First responders first received a call about an active shooter around 2:20 p.m.
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Authorities responded to the 12700 block of San Mateo Road at the Mountain Mushroom Farm, near Rice Trucking-Soil Farm off the highway. 1. Deputies found four deceased victims with gunshot wounds. A fifth victim, also with gunshot wounds, was transported to Stanford Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.
Then, shortly after, at Concord Farms on the 2100 block of Cabrillo Highway South – less than 3 miles from the Mountain Mushroom Farm – three more victims were located, who also died with gunshot wounds.
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The sheriff’s office says a weapon was located in Zhao’s vehicle. He would have acted alone, they added.
“This is a devastating tragedy for this community and the many families affected by this unspeakable act of violence,” said San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus.
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Throughout the evening, the families of the victims arrived at the scene, tried to piece together what answers they could.
“…I don’t care about anything else, I just hope to see him come out, because I really don’t want…” Carlos Martinez-Maya said.
Carlos Martinez-Maya told us around 5 p.m. Monday about his uncle who worked at the mushroom farm along the Cabrillo highway.
Then at 7 p.m. he told us farm workers had confirmed to the family that his uncle was one of the people shot at the scene.
Martinez-Maya identifies her uncle as a man named Marciano Martinez-Jimenez, who at work was known as “Martin”. Naturally, the family asked for some time to process everything that happened.
Family ID employee killed in Half Moon Bay shooting
Locals tell us that Mountain Mushroom Farm is known to be a marijuana grow farm.
Unfortunately, officials say the shots also hit the children. Some farm workers live there and children were in the area at the time of the shooting.
“This is a horrific event, an event we never imagined would happen in San Mateo County,” said David Pine, chairman of the board of supervisors.
“There were farm workers affected tonight. There were children on the scene during the incident. This is a truly heartbreaking tragedy in our community,” supervisor Ray Mueller said.
As for the number of children who witnessed this and what they saw:
“It’s a big rural area, so people work, it’s scattered, there are also people living there. So it was afternoon, the children were out of school and so that children witness it, it’s indescribable,” Sheriff Christina said. Corpus.
Authorities provide update on Half Moon Bay shooting that left 7 dead and 1 injured
Half Moon Bay residents Kate Shea and Lizette Diaz have both volunteered in the town to help those affected by massive flooding caused by torrential rains in January.
Then came the Monday mass shooting in their town.
“I walked into my boss’s office at 4 p.m. and said, ‘There are four dead people in my town, I have to go,'” Shea said. “Farmworkers on the coast have a hard life, and it’s just terrible.”
Diaz and Shea helped families at a community shelter set up at Portuguese Hall in Half Moon Bay.
Many ranch workers and their families have been displaced since the farms where they work are now crime scenes. Some were already staying in hotels because their homes had been damaged by the storm.
“There’s a lot of sadness, there’s grief,” Diaz says. “It touches me because I have four boys, and I can’t imagine what those kids are seeing today.”
Volunteers help families displaced by HMB fire
Alejandro Lopez knew one of the victims – a man he called his brother, a friend he has known for 30 years. Lopez brought her family to the shelter to meet the victim’s family.
John Williams and his wife laid down blankets. He says the community has still not recovered from the aftermath of the rains and floods. “And then, you know? It’s all thrown at us,” he says.
Williams says he, however, feels safer knowing the suspect has been arrested.
“It’s totally shocking to hear about this on the news all the time. But when you hear about it, when it comes home, to a small town like this, it really brings it home. C It’s just deplorable,” Williams said.
“We saw all the mermaids going one way, then all the mermaids going the other way. Something is happening, but we don’t know where it is. And it was terrifying,” says Sarah Prentice.
ABC7’s Dustin Dorsey at Stanford Hospital where 3 injured in Half Moon Bay shooting
This is another local resident who came to the shelter to help the families. She is also happy that the suspect has been arrested. Now she wants answers.
“One thing I’m happy about is that (the suspect) is alive, so hopefully we get some answers,” Prentice said. “I don’t know how open this person is to talking and explaining the ‘why’. I guess there is a vendetta.”
Volunteers say many of these families could be here for the next few days.
The local ALAS group helps with donations.
The San Francisco FBI assists the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office by providing investigative and forensic resources. They say the sheriff’s office is the main investigative agency right now.
ABC7 was informed that the Holy Family children’s center was locked at around 3:20 p.m.
A family reunification center has been set up at IDES Hall at 735 Main Street.
Aaron Tung, the director of Concord Farms, released the following statement:
With the limited information we have at this time, our comments are limited. For some, we thank the outpouring of thoughts and support from the community. We thank law enforcement for their response and quick actions. Concord Farms is a family-owned and operated mushroom farm for 37 years. Having no past knowledge of this shooter or his motives, we are shaken and very eager to get more information from the authorities and their investigations. Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and the Chinese-American community, from Half Moon Bay to Monterey Park.
Half Moon Bay Mayor Deborah Penrose also released a statement, saying:
“My colleagues and I on Half Moon Bay City Council are appalled and saddened by this terrible incident, which has completely shocked our community. Our deepest condolences go out to the families and individuals who have been devastated by this horrific act. We share their pain and know that members of our community also hold the victims and their families in their hearts. Now more than ever, it is important for the community to come together and be there for each other.
Congresswoman Anna Eshoo released the following statement after the shooting in her congressional district in Half Moon Bay:
“I continue to monitor the unfolding tragedy that unfolded in Half Moon Bay. My gratitude to the San Mateo Sheriff’s Office who took the suspect into custody and is working on both murder scenes.” Half Moon Bay is a loved and close-knit community, and we all stand with them, and the families of the victims, during this dark hour.”
President Biden released a statement on the shooting, which came just a day after the deadly mass shooting in Monterey Park, Southern California, saying in part:
“Jill and I pray for those killed and injured in the latest tragic shooting in Half Moon Bay, California. For the second time in days, communities across California are mourning the loss of loved ones in a senseless act of gun violence. briefing from my Homeland Security Team, I have directed my administration to ensure that local authorities and the broader community of Half Moon Bay have the full support of the federal government in the wake of this heinous attack.”
Governor Gavin Newsom also reacted to the incidents, echoing sentiments over the two shootings in California.
“At the hospital meeting with the victims of a mass shooting, I was taken to be informed of another shooting. This time in Half Moon Bay. Tragedy upon tragedy,” Newsom tweeted.
Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact Detective Deschler at 1-800-547-2700.
ABC7 News reporters JR Stone and Anser Hassan and Amanda del Castillo contributed to this report.
Get the latest on the deadly Half Moon Bay shooting here.
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