2023 — Jan 23, workplace shootings, mushroom farm & trucking facility, Half Moon Bay, CA–7

–7 CNN. “7 killed in shooting in Half Moon Bay, California.” 1-24-2023 update.
–7 CNN. “At least 7 dead…suspect in custody…shootings…Half Moon Bay…” 1-24-2023 update.
–7 CNN. “Half Moon Bay suspect is charged with 7 murder counts…” 1-26-2023 update.

Narrative Information

Jan 24, CNN: “At least seven people were killed and one person critically injured Monday at two locations in a small coastal community in the San Francisco Bay area, becoming the state’s second mass shooting in three days, officials said.

“The suspect, identified as 67-year-old Chunli Zhao, was taken into custody more than two hours after the shootings in Half Moon Bay, according to San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus. Authorities believe Zhao acted alone, with Corpus noting a motive was not known Monday night and there isn’t a threat to the community….

“At 2:22 p.m., deputies were alerted to a shooting in an unincorporated area of San Mateo County, nearly 30 miles south of San Francisco, the sheriff said. They found four victims dead and one wounded upon arrival at the first location, and soon after, three more victims were found dead at a separate site, Corpus said. One shooting took place at a mushroom farm and another near a trucking facility, approximately two miles from the farm, Dave Pine, President of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, earlier told CNN.

“At 4:40 p.m., a sheriff’s deputy located the suspect in his vehicle in the parking lot of a sheriff’s substation in Half Moon Bay, Corpus said, and he was taken into custody without incident. A semi-automatic handgun was found in his vehicle at that time, she said….

“The 66-year-old suspect used a registered gun and appeared to target the individuals he shot, the San Mateo County sheriff said. A motive is not known….

“Zhao had legal possession of a semi-automatic weapon, according to the San Mateo County sheriff. ‘He wasn’t a red flag for us, nothing to put him on our radar. He was known to the individuals at his workplace because he was employed there,’ San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus told CNN Tuesday. She said Zhao was not known to local law enforcement and ‘we’re still learning more about this individual but there was nothing that would have elevated’ any concern about him before the incident.

“The suspect appeared to target his victims: Corpus said the suspect ‘had individuals that he targeted…What we know is this turned into a workplace violence incident and he had an opportunity, we believe, to hurt other people, but he targeted individuals that he went after and pursued.’….

“Children were present at the scene of the mass shooting: Corpus said Monday night that the shooting happened in ‘a big rural location, so people are working. It’s spread out, there’s people that live at the location as well. It was in the afternoon when kids were out of school. For children to witness this is unspeakable.’

“….The owners of the mushroom farm in an unincorporated area in San Mateo County where the gunman killed at least four of Monday’s victims said the killings have left them “shook” and that they have no past knowledge of the gunman or his motives….” (CNN. “7 killed in shooting in Half Moon Bay, California.” 1-24-2023 update.)

Jan 25, CNN: “….Zhao was subject to a temporary restraining order after a former coworker and roommate accused him of attacking and threatening him in 2013. Yingjiu Wang, who worked with Zhao at a restaurant and lived with him in a San Jose apartment, wrote in a court declaration that Zhao’s violent behavior started after Zhao quit that job in March 2013. Early in the morning two days later, Zhao came into Wang’s room and asked for his salary. When Wang told him to pick it up at the restaurant, Zhao said he would kill Wang, then “took a pillow and started to cover my face and suffocate me,” Wang wrote. ‘While I couldn’t (breathe), I used all my might within the few seconds to push him away with my blanket,’ Wang wrote. He said he called for help and another roommate came to the door, but Zhao had allegedly locked it. The two men ended up wrestling on Wang’s bed before Zhao calmed down, according to Wang.

“Two days later, he wrote, Zhao threatened him again, saying ‘he can use a knife to cut my head if he can’t come back to work.’ Wang had no control over Zhao’s work status at the restaurant, he wrote.

“A judge issued a temporary restraining order against Zhao, which prevented him from getting too close to Wang and banned him from owning or buying a gun, according to the court paperwork. The restraining order expired in July 2013. An attorney for Zhao in the 2013 complaint did not respond to requests for comment and Wang could not be reached for comment.

“The incident was first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.”

“Zhao lived at the first property, where four victims were killed, for about seven years, according to California Terra Garden spokesperson David Oates. The site, formerly known as Mountain Mushroom Farm, was acquired by the company California Terra Garden in March 2022, Oates said. There are several mobile homes and trailers for employees on the property, which is where the suspect lived, Oates added.

“Zhao was one of about 35 employees working at the farm, the spokesperson said, adding standard background checks for all employees revealed ‘nothing to indicate anything like this was even a possibility.’…” (CNN. “Half Moon Bay shooting suspect legally owned his gun and targeted specific people…” 1-25-2023.)

Jan 26, CNN: “The suspect in the Half Moon Bay, California, mass shooting was charged Wednesday with seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in what became the deadliest attack in San Mateo County’s history, the district attorney said. ‘This one is in a category that is way beyond anything we’ve ever dealt with,’ San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said. ‘I’m sorry that we have joined the list of counties around this country that have had to deal with this.’

“The suspect – identified as 66-year-old Chunli Zhao — is charged with shooting four people at a mushroom farm Monday, where the suspect was an employee, and three more were killed at a nearby farm, authorities said. The suspect was a “coworker or former coworker” of the victims at each shooting site and evidence points to the attack being an instance of workplace violence, San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said….

“The suspect could face a sentence of life without parole or the death penalty, the district attorney said….” (CNN. “Half Moon Bay suspect is charged with 7 murder counts as US tallies more mass shootings than days so far in 2023.” 1-26-2023 update.)

Sources

CNN. “7 killed in shooting in Half Moon Bay, California.” 1-24-2023 update. Accessed 1-24-2023 at: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/half-moon-bay-california-shooting-1-24-23/index.html

CNN. “At least 7 dead, 1 injured and suspect in custody after shootings in Half Moon Bay, California, officials says.” 1-24-2023 update. Accessed 1-24-2023 at: https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/23/us/half-moon-bay-california-shooting-incident/index.html

CNN. “Half Moon Bay shooting suspect legally owned his gun and targeted specific people, authorities said. Here’s what we know about him.” 1-25-2023. Accessed 1-25-2023 at: https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/25/us/half-moon-bay-shooting-suspect-chunli-zhao-what-we-know/index.html

CNN. “Half Moon Bay suspect is charged with 7 murder counts as US tallies more mass shootings than days so far in 2023.” 1-26-2023 update. Accessed 1-26-2023 at: https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/26/us/us-shootings-half-moon-bay-monterey-park-yakima/index.html