Breaking News: Half Moon Bay shooting: Suspected gunman threatened to suffocate, ‘split’ head of former South Bay roommate, court doc alleges
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When Was Half Moon Bay Shooting Happened?
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Where is the Half Moon Bay Located?
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Who is the suspect of Half Moon Bay Shooting?
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How may people died or injured during half moon Bay Shooting?
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What is the Nationality of Chunli Zhao?
Chunli Zhao Biography and Wiki?
Half Moon Bay— A day after a mass shooting at two mushroom farms jolted this seaside community, horrific details of farm workers hiding in portable toilets as a suspected gunman with a dark history opened fire, killing seven, began to emerge.
Officials said the alleged shooter, Chunli Zhao, 66, lived with his wife in a ramshackle collection of trailers and tent-like structures housing a community of Asian and Latino immigrant workers. According to court records, he was violent, attempting to suffocate and threatening to “split (the) head” of a former roommate.
He also worked at the first of the two shooting locations, Mountain Mushroom Farms. On Tuesday, law enforcement officials described Zhao as a “disgruntled” employee who arrived on Monday with a legally purchased semi-automatic pistol.
The evidence so far “points to this being an instance of workplace violence,” according to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. The deadliest mass shooting in San Mateo County history occurred as the state reeled from a 72-hour surge in gun violence.
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“They were executed with purpose, with intent,” said Congresswoman Anna Eshoo. As the carnage unfolded, Eshoo met with survivors, some of whom sought refuge in portable toilets. “They’re worried about their jobs, worried about their families, and there’s a lot of trauma.”
On January 24, 2023, US Representative Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) speaks to the media outside ALAS, a local nonprofit in Half Moon Bay, Calif., one day after a gunman shot and killed seven farmworkers. (Bay Area News Group/Dai Sugano)
Authorities in San Mateo said Tuesday that there were “no proceeding factors” indicating Zhao was planning an attack. However, newly discovered court records from a decade ago detail a history of violent workplace outbursts.
Zhao’s former roommate and coworker at a San Jose restaurant filed a successful restraining order against Zhao in Santa Clara County court in 2013, alleging he said, “Today I am going to kill you.”
The March 2013 brawl was sparked by a disagreement over Zhao’s job loss at a San Jose restaurant and being told he’d have to pick up his final paycheck there. Zhao’s roommate claimed Zhao “took a pillow and began to cover my face and suffocate me” and threatened to “use a kitchen knife to split my head” if he couldn’t return to work.
San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe stated on Tuesday that his investigators are gathering as much information as possible about the shooter. “We’re trying to figure out how he got a gun. Was he in the country on a work visa? “Did he overstay his work permit?”
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On Wednesday, when Zhao is expected to be arraigned in a Redwood City courtroom, Wagstaffe expects his office to file seven counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, as well as other gun and special circumstances charges against him.
The shooting in Half Moon Bay is part of a wave of gun violence in California. On Saturday, a shooter killed 11 people at a Lunar New Year’s celebration in Monterey Park. In addition, a gas station shooting in Oakland on Monday night killed one person and injured four others.
“Only in America, number one in gun ownership, number one in gun deaths — it’s not that complicated,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom from Half Moon Bay on Tuesday.
However, Newsom stated that the shooting in Half Moon Bay is also a “stacking of issues” related to agricultural workers’ squalid living conditions and low pay, a sentiment shared by local officials and aid workers.
“What the hell is wrong with us that we let these weapons of war and large-capacity clips loose on our streets and sidewalks?” he wondered.
Half Moon Bay Shooting Suspects Bio
Five adult males and two adult females of Latino and Asian descent have yet to be publicly identified as victims. However, family members and friends identified two of the deceased, Martin Martinez and Jose Romero Perez, as well as an eighth person, Pedro Romero Perez, who survived the shooting and is being treated at a Stanford trauma center, to the Bay Area News Group.
According to Maria Melgar, owner of the Hilltop Grocery store, Jose and Pedro Romero Perez are brothers who left behind multiple children in Mexico. “I’m a store owner, so I see them all the time,” Melgar explained. She stated that the brothers came to Half Moon Bay to work but were considering moving out of state to find better work.
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“I remember (they) would come in and buy the usual stuff, tortillas, tomatoes, bread, and things,” Melgar, who was crying, said. “I was taking a rest day yesterday, but when I got the call I was so sad I started crying. It’s heartbreaking.”
Renato Juarez Perez, the two brothers’ cousin, said he spoke with one of them just two days ago.
“He asked me to give him the number for the Mexican consulate so he could apply for a passport to go back home and visit family,” Juarez Perez explained. “I told him I couldn’t help him because I had to go to work. Our shifts simply did not coincide. I never got to see him.”
Capt. Eamonn Allen of the Sheriff’s Office said there is also a “very real fear of retribution” against Zhao’s wife, who lived on the mushroom farm with the suspected shooter. Allen went on to say that his office has been “providing her resources” and is concerned about her well-being in the aftermath of the shooting.
In the face of a seemingly endless string of mass shootings. Democrats at all levels of leadership continue to call for stricter gun control measures.
State Assemblymember Phil Ting of San Francisco said. He will “return to work” to see if lawmakers can tighten California’s already stringent gun laws.
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Zhao, who is suspected of carrying out the attack with a legally purchased semi-automatic handgun. Who was spotted sitting in his vehicle in front of a sheriff’s substation on Monday. And arrested about two hours after the shootings began.
Monday’s rampage is reminiscent of the Bay Area’s deadliest mass shooting, which occurred in 2021 when a disgruntled Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority employee shot and killed nine of his coworkers. The victims’ families and transit workers have been left with deep wounds as a result of the attack.
Half Moon Bay state Sen. Josh Becker said he was speaking with an attorney involved in the VTA shooting aftermath.
“Farmworkers may not be aware of all their rights. And under worker’s comp we take care of workers here. “We’re here to make sure they know their rights,” Becker said during a visit to a farmworker assistance center.
State Assemblymember Marc Berman said less than 24 hours ago. tThat he was standing on the steps of the Capitol building in Sacramento for a vigil for the Monterey Park victims.
“It’s startling, tragic, and senseless,” Berman said. “I used to believe that protecting our farmworkers meant protecting them from the sun or wage theft. But now it’s also from gun violence.”
As the community began to recover from the shock, President Biden promised “the full support of the federal government” early Tuesday.
Statements for Half Moon Bay Shooting Case?
Biden also advocated for tougher gun control in the United States. Democratic Senators Dianne Feinstein of California, Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. And others introduced legislation on Monday to prohibit “military-style assault weapons” . And high-capacity magazines or ammunition feeding devices. Another bill proposed by the three would raise the minimum age for purchasing an assault weapon to 21.
“Jill and I are praying for those who have died and those. Who have been injured in the latest tragic shooting in Half Moon Bay,”. Biden said in a statement. “California communities are mourning the loss of loved. Ones in a senseless act of gun violence for the second time in recent days.”
