(Trends Wide) — Authorities are working to find out why a 67-year-old man might have killed seven people in a small beach town near San Francisco, in the third mass shooting to stun California in as many days and leave the community Asian-American reeling.
Just hours after Monday’s Half Moon Bay attack suspect Chunli Zhao was pulled over while parked at a sheriff’s substation with a semi-automatic pistol in his vehicle, another person was killed and seven others injured in a Shooting on a highway in Oakland, the San Mateo sheriff and Oakland police reported.
After the fatal shooting in which a 72-year-old gunman killed 11 people during Lunar New Year celebrations in Monterey Park, the killings brought the death toll in mass shootings to 19 in just 44 hours, and contributed to reaching the 39 mass shootings recorded so far this year as a result of gun violence in the United States.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom was in a hospital meeting with victims of the Monterey Park carnage when he was “removed to inform him of another shooting, this time in Half Moon Bay,” he said.
“Tragedy Upon Tragedy” tweeted Newsom.
“This type of shooting is horrible,” San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said Monday night, detailing what happened at two sites in the Half Moon Bay community of about 11,000 residents. “It’s a tragedy we hear about all too often, but today it has come home, here in San Mateo County.”
Investigators are working with the district attorney to interview Zhao, of Half Moon Bay, who was cooperating with authorities after he was detained about two hours after the first shots were reported at around 2:22 p.m., the police said. sheriff.
“What we do know is that some of the victims were Chinese, that the perpetrator was Chinese, and that it was from a farming community, they were farm workers,” Half Moon Bay Mayor Deborah Penrose told “Trends Wide This Morning.” this Tuesday.
One shooting occurred at a mushroom farm and another near a trucking facility just over two miles away, San Mateo County Board of Supervisors Chairman Dan Pine said. Officers found four victims dead and one wounded in one location and three others dead in the other, Corpus said. Where the shooting started is still under investigation.
This Monday night, the injured person was in critical condition at a hospital, Corpus said.
The owners of the mushroom farm did not previously know of the gunman or his motives, they said in a statement.
“We are shocked and very eager to get more information from authorities and their investigations,” Concord Farms said in the statement to Trends Wide. “Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and the Chinese-American community, from Half Moon Bay to Monterey Park.”
With his own city still reeling from the violence, the mayor of Monterey Park offered his condolences to the residents of Half Moon Bay and said the community must now go down the “long road to recovery.”
“I know what awaits you in the days ahead,” said Mayor Henry Lo.
Gunfight in Half Moon Bay.
A community devastated by floods faces a new horror
The Half Moon Bay community must come together to heal and support each other in addressing gun violence, San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller said.
“There were farm workers affected tonight; There were children at the scene of the incidents. This is a truly heartbreaking tragedy for our community,” Mueller said.
Mueller spoke about the mental health toll the violence has unleashed on the community and urged people to seek help, especially as the city has been trying to recover from the impact of recent deadly floods that swept across large swaths of the state.
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“Take advantage of the mental health crisis counseling that is available,” he said, adding that anyone can contact the county’s hotline. “You are not alone,” she pointed out.
Half Moon Bay Deputy Mayor Joaquin Jimenez also urged residents to seek mental health counseling.
“This is something we can see on the news. You never think that she is going to come in and hit home,” Jimenez said. “Today, we are the news. Our community has been affected.”
Trends Wide’s Joe Sutton, Jamiel Lynch, Sara Smart and Chimaine Pouteau contributed to this report.
