Half Moon Bay suspect is charged with 7 murder counts as US tallies more mass shootings than days so far in 2023 - CNN

CNN  — 

The fishy successful the Half Moon Bay, California, wide shooting was charged Wednesday with 7 counts of execution and 1 number of attempted execution successful what became the deadliest onslaught successful San Mateo County’s history, the territory lawyer said.

“This 1 is successful a class that is mode beyond thing we’ve ever dealt with,” San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said. “I’m atrocious that we person joined the database of counties astir this state that person had to woody with this.”

The fishy – identified arsenic 66-year-old Chunli Zhao – is charged with shooting 4 radical astatine a mushroom workplace Monday, wherever the fishy was an employee, and 3 much were killed astatine a adjacent farm, authorities said. The fishy was a “coworker oregon erstwhile coworker” of the victims astatine each shooting tract and grounds points to the onslaught being an lawsuit of workplace violence, San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said.

As the probe continues, the Half Moon Bay community’s consciousness of bid was near “destroyed by senseless death,” California Assembly subordinate Marc Berman said, noting that determination are workplace disagreements and narration disagreements hap each implicit the world.

“But it’s lone successful the United States wherever acold excessively often those disagreements extremity successful wide shootings,” Berman added, promising that the authorities volition bash everything imaginable to further trim specified incidents.

The onslaught marked the 2nd wide shooting California suffered successful conscionable 48 hours. It came arsenic investigators to the southbound were inactive piecing unneurotic what led up to a wide shooting successful Monterey Park, California, wherever 11 radical were killed Saturday night.

Meanwhile, caller details emerged successful the Yakima, Washington, shooting that killed 3 radical astatine oregon adjacent a Circle K convenience store little than a time aft the shooting successful Half Moon Bay. Court documents revealed Wednesday that the shooting suspect’s parent called constabulary successful the hours aft the attack, saying she believed her lad was progressive successful the shooting.

Here are immoderate different cardinal developments from the caller shootings:

“Only successful America bash we spot this benignant of carnage, this benignant of chaos, this benignant of disruption of communities and lives,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday, calling for national enactment connected weapon information laws.

There person been much wide shootings successful the United States than determination person been days this year.

Forty wide shootings person been recorded successful the US successful 2023 – much than astatine this constituent successful immoderate twelvemonth connected record, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

As communities marked by acts of weapon unit proceed to grieve the lives lost, investigators connected the antithetic cases person been moving to found motives down the attacks. Here are much details of immoderate of the caller shootings.

Authorities inactive don’t cognize what motivated the Saturday nighttime shooting astatine Star Ballroom Dance Studio successful Monterey Park, and investigators person truthful acold not been capable to found a transportation betwixt the fishy and immoderate of the victims – including immoderate romanticist connection, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna announced Wednesday.

Investigators besides bash not judge the fishy – identified arsenic 72-year-old Huu Can Tran – has frequented the creation workplace successful the past 5 years, Luna said. Three radical who knew Tran, including his ex-wife, antecedently told CNN helium had erstwhile been a acquainted look astatine the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, wherever helium gave informal creation lessons.

“Sometimes it’s frustrating erstwhile thing similar this happens. It’s truthful tragic due to the fact that we’re trying to recognize it and it doesn’t marque sense. It truly doesn’t,” the sheriff added, explaining that investigators are moving to find a motive.

The gunman fired 42 rounds from a semi-automatic handgun astatine the creation hallway earlier heading to a 2nd creation workplace successful adjacent Alhambra, wherever a civilian charged him and wrestled the weapon distant from him, Luna said.

The firearm – which sources accidental was past utilized to place the fishy – is believed to person been the execution weapon, Luna said. The weapon was not registered successful the authorities of California, but was purchased by the fishy successful 1999 successful Monterey Park, the sheriff added.

On Wednesday, officers recovered a motorcycle registered to the fishy conscionable 1 artifact distant from the country of the shooting successful Monterey Park, the sheriff announced.

“Homicide investigators determined that the motorcycle was parked determination sometime connected Saturday, conscionable anterior to the wide murder,” Luna said. “Investigators judge it was placed determination by the fishy arsenic an alternate getaway vehicle.”

Less than a time aft the shooting, Tran was recovered dormant wrong a achromatic van astir 30 miles distant successful Torrance. He died pursuing a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the sheriff antecedently said.

The shooting astatine the creation workplace killed 11 radical and wounded 9 others.

Those killed were identified by the coroner’s bureau as: Xiujuan Yu, 57; Hongying Jian, 62; Lilan Li, 63; Mymy Nhan, 65; Muoi Dai Ung, 67; and Diana Man Ling Tom, 70; Wen-Tau Yu, 64; Valentino Marcos Alvero, 68; Ming Wei Ma, 72; Yu-Lun Kao, 72; and Chia Ling Yau, 76.

After the attack, investigators served a hunt warrant astatine the location of the suspected gunman and recovered “hundreds of rounds” of ammunition arsenic good arsenic grounds starring officials to judge helium was “manufacturing homemade firearm suppressors,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.

Authorities connected Wednesday identified those killed successful the Half Moon Bay shooting as: Yetao Bing, 43, Qizhong Cheng, 66, Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50, Aixiang Zhang, 74, Jingzhi Lu, 64, and Zhishen Liu, 73.

Speaking from Half Moon Bay connected Tuesday, Newsom said the victims are dealing with a “myriad of issues” astatine the aforesaid time, describing speaking to radical astatine the infirmary who seemed much disquieted astir the outgo of healthcare bills oregon astir losing their jobs due to the fact that they can’t work.  

“The stories are devastating,” Newsom said.

Zhao made his archetypal courtroom quality Wednesday but did not participate a plea. He is scheduled to beryllium arraigned connected February 16.

In summation to execution charges, Zhao besides faces enhancements for the usage of a firearm, large bodily injury, and aggregate murder, according to District Attorney Wagstaffe.

Zhao had antecedently been accused of trying to suffocate and threatening to termination a erstwhile coworker astatine different occupation astir a decennary ago, according to tribunal records obtained by CNN, which amusement helium was taxable to a impermanent restraining bid aft the alleged onslaught successful 2013.

Court documents filed by the Yakima Police Department revealed caller details Wednesday connected the fatal shootings.

The suspect, identified arsenic 21-year-old Jarid Haddock, visited the Circle K store astir 3 a.m. and walked astir for astir 40 seconds without interacting with anyone oregon buying anything, according to investigators who reviewed surveillance video, the tribunal documents said.

He returned 30 minutes later, this clip with a gun, the papers says.

The fishy pointed the weapon astatine a antheral and pistillate and fired respective shots astatine them arsenic helium moved successful their direction, instrumentality enforcement said, adding that “based connected the video, it appeared Jarid fired each of the rounds from his magazine.”

He past dropped the mag from the weapon and reached into his container for different and approached the victims again who were connected the floor, officials said. Based connected the video, the pistillate was inactive live “since her limb was moving” and the gunman stood implicit the pistillate and fired “several much shots astatine her,” the tribunal documents said.

After the fishy near the store, helium ran to the state pumps and approached a Chevrolet Tahoe and “fired astir six shots into the driver’s broadside window,” striking the driver, the tribunal documents revealed.

According to the documents, Haddock’s parent called the constabulary aft 7 a.m. and said she mbelieved her lad was progressive successful the shooting.

The parent told constabulary that Haddock “had been utilizing methamphetamine for astir 3 years,” but it was getting worse implicit the past period and that helium had entree to respective firearms successful a harmless astatine location – including 1 akin to an “AK-47 that could termination a batch of people,” the tribunal documents said.

Police were yet pointed to the suspect’s determination aft a pistillate who had lent the fishy her telephone heard him marque “several incriminating statements including ‘I killed those people,’” Murray said during a quality conference.

The fishy aboriginal died of an evident self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to police.