Half Moon Bay Mass Shooting Believed to Be Case of Workplace Violence: Sheriff - NBC Bay Area

As authorities proceed to analyse Monday's wide shooting successful Half Moon Bay that near 7 radical dormant and 1 injured, officials connected Tuesday said the massacre appears to beryllium a lawsuit of workplace violence.

The wide sidesplitting took spot astatine 2 mushroom increasing locations, 1 astatine astir 2:20 p.m. connected San Mateo Road (Highway 92) and the different soon thereafter on Cabrillo Highway South (Highway 1). Multiple victims were recovered astatine some scenes.

The suspect, 66-year-old Chunli Zhao, worked astatine the archetypal shooting location, Mountain Mushroom Farm, and helium either worked with oregon utilized to enactment with the victims astatine the shooting scenes, the sheriff's bureau said. Investigators judge helium acted alone.

"All of the grounds we person points to this being the lawsuit of workplace violence," San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said Tuesday.

Zhao was taken into custody without incidental astatine astir 4:40 p.m. Monday successful the parking batch of a San Mateo County sheriff's substation successful Half Moon Bay aft a lawman spotted his vehicle.

A semi-automatic handgun was recovered successful Zhao's vehicle. The sheriff's bureau said the firearm was legally purchased and owned.

Zhao was booked into the Maguire Correctional Facility successful Redwood City connected 7 counts of archetypal grade execution and 1 number of archetypal grade attempted murder, the sheriff's bureau said. Each number includes an enhancement for utilizing a firearm. He is scheduled to beryllium arraigned Wednesday afternoon.

"We're not going to beryllium giving retired a batch of precise item connected what was said," San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said. "This is simply a lawsuit that is astatine the opening stage. It has a agelong roadworthy to question implicit the coming months and years. To that extent, we don't privation to effort it retired successful the nationalist eye, but alternatively we volition yet grip this lawsuit successful 1 of the courtrooms."

Authorities did not instantly merchandise accusation pertaining to Zhao's transgression history.

"There were nary circumstantial indicators that would person led america to judge that helium was susceptible of thing similar this," sheriff's bureau spokesperson Eamonn Allen said. "He was not known to america oregon to person immoderate benignant of, again, indicators that whitethorn person led america to judge that this was thing helium mightiness person done."

Officials connected Tuesday provided updates connected Monday's deadly wide shooting successful Half Moon Bay.

Five men and 2 women were killed successful the shooting spree, the sheriff's bureau said. The injured victim, a man, was listed successful unchangeable information arsenic of Tuesday. The sheriff's bureau antecedently said determination were 7 antheral victims and 1 pistillate victim.

All of the victims are Asian oregon Hispanic, according to the sheriff's office. Their identifies volition beryllium released publically pursuing notification of adjacent of kin.

"As immoderate of these victims were members of our migrant community, this represents a unsocial situation erstwhile it comes to notifications and identifications," Corpus said.

Those impacted by the shooting gathered astatine a reunification center, wherever galore stayed the nighttime aft the farms wherever they lived turned into transgression scenes.

Local residents showed up astatine the reunification halfway to enactment the families affected.

"There's tons of tragedies hitting our state close now, much wide shootings than the fig of days successful a month, and to deed our tiny municipality is truly shocking," Half Moon Bay nonmigratory Evany Sullivan said.

NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit has been looking into the wide shooting successful Half Moon Bay and has caller accusation astir 1 of the shooting locations. Candice Nguyen reports.

Half Moon Bay Mayor Deborah Penrose spoke with NBC Bay Area aboriginal Tuesday, saying thing needs to beryllium done.

"Too galore guns," Penrose said. "Semi-automatic guns and automatic rifles request to beryllium banned, period. There's nary excuse for it."

President Joe Biden connected Tuesday released a connection addressing the Half Moon Bay wide shooting, saying successful part: "Jill and I are praying for those killed and injured successful the latest tragic shooting successful Half Moon Bay, California. For the 2nd clip successful caller days, California communities are mourning the nonaccomplishment of loved ones successful a senseless enactment of weapon violence. Following a briefing from my homeland information team, I person directed my medication to guarantee section authorities and the broader Half Moon Bay assemblage person the afloat enactment of the national authorities successful the aftermath of this heinous attack. (Full connection below)

The shootings successful Half Moon Bay marked California's 2nd wide shooting successful 3 days. On Saturday, a gunman opened occurrence astatine a creation studio successful the Southern California metropolis of Monterey Park, leaving 11 dormant and 9 injured.

President Biden's afloat statement:

"Jill and I are praying for those killed and injured successful the latest tragic shooting successful Half Moon Bay, California. For the 2nd clip successful caller days, California communities are mourning the nonaccomplishment of loved ones successful a senseless enactment of weapon violence.

"Following a briefing from my homeland information team, I person directed my medication to guarantee section authorities and the broader Half Moon Bay assemblage person the afloat enactment of the national authorities successful the aftermath of this heinous attack.

"Yesterday, Senator Feinstein — alongside Senators Murphy, Blumenthal and others — reintroduced a national Assault Weapons Ban and authorities that would rise the minimum acquisition property for battle weapons to 21. Even arsenic we await further details connected these shootings, we cognize the scourge of weapon unit crossed America requires stronger action. I erstwhile again impulse some chambers of Congress to enactment rapidly and present this Assault Weapons Ban to my desk, and instrumentality enactment to support American communities, schools, workplaces, and homes safe."

NBC Bay Area's Terry McSweeney, Marianne Favro, Pete Suratos and Stephen Ellison contributed to this report.