At Least 7 Killed In Half Moon Bay Shootings; Suspect In Custody

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — Seven people were killed and an eighth person was critically wounded in two separate shootings in unincorporated Half Moon Bay Monday afternoon and a suspect has been arrested in connection with the shootings, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office reports.

The suspect was taken into custody outside the Sheriff's substation in Half Moon Bay where he presumably had gone to turn himself in. He has been identified as Chunli Zhao, 67, of Half Moon Bay.

"This kind of shooting is horrific," San Mateo County's newly elected Sheriff Christina Corpus said Monday evening during a press conference.

"It's a tragedy that we hear about far too often, but today it's hit home here in San Mateo County."

A motive for the shootings has not yet been determined but authorities believe Chunli acted alone, Corpus said.

Deputies responded at 2:22 p.m. to a mushroom farm on Highway 92 on the report of a shooting and found four people dead and another critically injured, Corpus said. The injured victim was hospitalized.

Three people were found dead at another business on Highway 1.

Farm workers and their families live at the mushroom farm and children may have been present at the shooting, Corpus said.

The suspect was located at around 4:4o p.m. at the Sheriff's substation in Half Moon Bay where he presumably had gone to turn himself in, Corpus said.

Zhao was a "disgruntled" employee of one of the businesses involved in the shooting, said San Mateo County Board of Supervisors President Dave Pine who also spoke at the press conference.

A semiautomatic handgun was found in Zhao's vehicle, Corpus said.

San Mateo County Supervisor David J. Canepa issued a statement in response to the shootings.

"First Monterey Park and now Half Moon Bay," Canepa said in the statement, referring to an earlier mass shooting that happened on Saturday in the Los Angeles area that killed 11.

Reaction quickly poured in from around California and across the nation.

"Tragedy upon tragedy," Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted.

"At the hospital meeting with victims of a mass shooting when I get pulled away to be briefed about another shooting. This time in Half Moon Bay."

President Joe Biden has been briefed on the shooting, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted.

"Enough is enough. How many more must die?"

Canepa said the details of the events were "sparse," but he noted that they had one thing in common: guns.

"My heart breaks for the families," he said.

The Sheriff's Office is working with the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office to interview the suspect and he is cooperating, Corpus said.

"This is a devastating tragedy for this community and the many families touched by this unspeakable act of violence," Corpus said.

The shooting prompted the closure of Highway 92, with traffic redirected through Pacifica, police said in a 4:23 p.m. traffic advisory.

A family reunification center has been set up at the IDES Hall, 735 Main St., Half Moon Bay.

Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to contact Detective Deschler at (800) 547- 2700.

— Bay City News contributed to this report