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HALF MOON BAY, Calif. — At some point after assembly with victims’ households mourning a shooting rampage in Southern California, Gov. Gavin Newsom traveled to the Northern California neighborhood of Half Moon Bay, the place two shootings left seven individuals lifeless.
The suspected shooter is in custody and can be arraigned Wednesday in reference to the assaults at plant nurseries 30 miles south of San Francisco. The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Workplace stated 4 individuals have been discovered lifeless on the Mountain Mushroom Farm, the place the suspect labored, and a fifth was taken to a hospital with life-threatening accidents. Three our bodies were found at a second scene – a farm the place the suspect used to work – a short while later.
The county coroner’s workplace was working to determine the victims, a few of whom have been migrants, and notify their subsequent of kin. Sheriff Christina Corpus stated on Tuesday the victims have been 5 males and two girls. A survivor was in steady situation at a hospital, she added.
Newsom expressed his dismay that he needed to go from one neighborhood affected by a mass taking pictures to a different one back-to-back and advocated for stronger gun management legal guidelines.
“Only in America do we see this kind of carnage, this kind of chaos, this kind of destruction of communities and lives,” Newsom stated.
The FBI stated on Twitter that it was serving to native legislation enforcement with the investigation.
All proof factors to the assault as an “instance of workplace violence,”Corpus stated Tuesday. “Our hearts are broken, and we’re working together with the community to heal this tragic incident.”
Vice President Kamala Harris can be set to go to her dwelling state Wednesday within the wake of the 2 shootings, the White Home introduced Tuesday because the Biden administration advances its plans for laws to ban assault weapons. Harris will journey to Monterey Park, the place 11 people were killed at a dance studio on Saturday.
HALF MOON BAY SHOOTINGS:7 dead in two related incidents in California; suspect arrested
Newsom criticizes Republicans for inaction on gun management
Newsom made a robust push for extra gun management on a federal stage and stated California would proceed to be a pacesetter in reform measures. He criticized Republicans, together with Home Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who represents California, for his or her opposition to gun management measures.
“We haven’t heard one damn word from him. Not since Monterey Park, not what happened here, not one word,” Newsom stated.
Newsom stated Republican lawmakers have blocked gun security reform and judges have reversed efforts that states together with California have handed.
“Shame on them,” he added.
Grief counseling out there for residents, San Mateo County official says
County officers labored to offer counseling for grieving residents, Ray Mueller of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors instructed USA TODAY. He stated the varied, agricultural neighborhood was already reeling from three weeks of storms and flooding.
TIMELINE:How the shootings in Half Moon Bay, California, unfolded
Mueller described the scene on the reunification middle Monday as one among “shock and sadness,” however he praised residents for coming collectively to assist the victims’ households.
“Late into the night, we had people coming, bringing blankets, supplies, and food,” he stated. “The community is rallying around. The next thing we’re going to be doing is raising money for the lost wages for these families.”
‘Would not occur right here’: Group in shock
A day after the killings on the mushroom farm, native resident Juan Martinez stated he’s nonetheless uneasy.
Martinez, a gross sales and upkeep supervisor at Spanish City, an arts and crafts retailer in entrance of the farm the place the deadly shootings occurred, stated each shootings have been near his job and minutes away from the place he lives.
“When I heard it was a shooting my mind started going places and I immediately thought about Monterey Park,” Martinez, 47, said.
He was relieved when he learned that the alleged gunman was arrested.
“Stuff like this doesn’t happen here. Ever,” Martinez stated. “We see car accidents and that’s usually the most dangerous, until yesterday.”
Teresa Helms of nearby Paradise, California, stopped by the crafts store along with her husband later. She too was relieved a suspect was taken into custody.
“If he hadn’t been caught, we wouldn’t be here,” said Helms, 53, who grew up in Half Moon Bay. “It’s like you’re not safe anywhere anymore. You just have to be careful of your surroundings, no matter where you are.”
Suspect to be arraigned Wednesday
Police will submit the case to the district attorney’s office for review Tuesday and the suspect will be arraigned Wednesday, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said. The charges have not yet been determined.
Victims have been Chinese language, Latino farmworkers
The Sheriff’s Office first received reports of a shooting just before 2:30 p.m. Monday, authorities said.
Half Moon Bay Vice Mayor Joaquin Jimenez said the victims included Chinese and Latino farmworkers.
Some workers at one facility lived on the premises, and children may have witnessed the shooting, Corpus said. She said it wasn’t immediately clear how the two locations were connected.
Corpus said Tuesday that the victims were five men and two women. She said the coroner’s office is still working to identify the victims and notify their next of kin, a task that presents “distinctive challenges” because some of the victims are members of the migrant community.
The person in the hospital was in stable condition, Corpus said. The only known connection between the victims and the suspect is that they may have been co-workers, she said.
Suspect in custody, ‘no menace’ to neighborhood
A suspect, Chunli Zhao, 67, a resident of Half Moon Bay, was arrested without incident at his car in the parking lot of the Half Moon Bay Police Substation more than two hours after deputies arrived at the first shooting scene, Corpus said. A semi-automatic handgun was in his vehicle, according to Corpus. She said Tuesday the gun was legally purchased and owned.
Officials believe Zhao is a worker at one of the facilities, and the victims were workers as well. Some workers at one facility lived on the premises and children may have witnessed the shooting, Corpus said. The connection between the new facilities wasn’t clear.
Corpus said officials hadn’t determined a motive for the shooting, though county board of supervisors President Dave Pine described the suspect as a “disgruntled worker.”
HORROR AND HEROISM:In Monterey Park shooting, ballrooms became the scene of sudden horror, stunning heroism
Biden provides prayers, pushes for gun management laws
President Joe Biden issued a statement saying he and his wife, Jill, were praying for the victims.
“For the second time in latest days, California communities are mourning the lack of family members in a mindless act of gun violence,” the statement said.
Biden said he met with his Homeland Security team and directed his administration to ensure local authorities and the broader Half Moon Bay community have full support of “within the wake of this heinous assault.”
Biden also lobbied for his latest gun control bill, noting that Sen. Barbara Feinstein, D-Calif., was among lawmakers who reintroduced a bill that would include a federal assault weapons ban and legislation that would raise the minimum purchase age for assault weapons to 21.
“Whilst we await additional particulars on these shootings, we all know the scourge of gun violence throughout America requires stronger motion,” the statement said. “I as soon as once more urge each chambers of Congress to behave shortly and ship this Assault Weapons Ban to my desk, and take motion to maintain American communities, faculties, workplaces, and houses secure.”
VICTIMS REMEMBERED:Families remember those slain in Monterey Park mass shooting: ‘Our biggest cheerleader,’ the ‘life of any party’
The place is Half Moon Bay?
Half Moon Bay is a coastal community of about 12,000 people 30 miles south of San Francisco. The city becomes the site of the second mass shooting in California in two days, sitting almost 400 miles northwest of Monterey Park. Eleven people were killed in a shooting rampage at a dance studio there Saturday night; the suspected shooter was later found dead in a van.
Contributing: Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
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