Causes
Half Moon Bay Mass Shooting: The Second Massacre Within The Week
On Monday, 23 January 2023, Half Moon Bay witnessed a mass shooting at two separate scenes killing almost seven people.
As per the reports given out by the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, it is said that the incident that took the lives of seven along with several injured occurred on Monday afternoon.
One of the critically wounded victims of the mass shooting was taken to Stanford Medical Center with life-threatening wounds.
What Is The Motive Behind In This Horrified Massacre?
The 67-year-old Half Moon Bay resident suspect is in custody after he turned himself in to the San Mateo County Sheriff. As of now, the motive behind the massacre is unknown.
From the press conference held by San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus, it was announced that the horrific shooting was the state’s second mass shooting that took place within three days.
She said that nowadays such tragedies are reported so often and now it has hit home in San Mateo County.
The county Sheriff stated that the deputies were dispatched at 2.22 pm after reporting a shooting with numerous victims that was held at the Magic Mushroom Farm at 12761 San Mateo Road/Highway 92.
Arriving at the scene, they located four dead bodies with gunshot wounds and a victim who was critically wounded and transported to Stanford Medical Center.
Later, a similar incident was reported at a mushroom farm located at 2125 Cabrillo Highway S./Highway 1. Upon arrival, the deputies witnessed three victims who were killed by gunshots just the same as at the previous crime scene.
Initially, the connection between both crimes was unknown until it was found that the suspect, 67-year-old Zhao Chunli, a Half Moon Bay resident, was found as a discontented worker of one of the farms.
Also, it was clarified by the management that the victims of the massacre were believed to be workers. As per the authorities, the suspect was believed to have used a semiautomatic rifle and even doubted whether he had the legal right or not.
As announced by Christina Corpus, this horrific shooting occurred only two days after the mass shooting that took place at Monterey Park on Saturday. The shooting at the Lunar New Year celebrations in Monterey Park caused the death of 10 people and even injured more than ten.
The gunman was a 72-year-old elderly Chinese immigrant, Huu Can Tran who was found to have a limited criminal history and an interest in dance. He was earlier arrested in the early 90s for unlawful possession of a firearm.
Also, just the same as the Half Moon Bay Mass Shooting incident, the motive behind the Monterey Park massacre was unknown.
Read: Lake Elsinore Shooting Leaves Riverside Deputy Injured, Suspect Arrested
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna stated on Monday that the investigation into the mass firing is going on and that they are trying hard to find the truth.
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, the gunman was very much familiar with the dance studio and this brings out the doubt that the massacre was a targeted one.
The eleven victims of the tragedy were over the age of fifty and the gunshots even injured multiple others present at the studio at the time of the shooting.
As per the statements given by the officials, it is said that one of the dead was shot outside the dance studio right before he was entering the spot and a total of 42 shots were fired.
Monterey Park Police Chief Scott Wiese stated that the authorities arrived at the scene within minutes and by this time, the suspect left for another dance studio located near Alhambra. It was here he was taken over by two civilians and was disarmed.
Even though he managed to leave the scene at the time, the next day he was caught by the police but unfortunately, he died from a self-inflicted gunshot as he was surrounded by police 30 miles away in Torrance.
Californian Governor Gavin Newsom, tweeted that the state faced tragedy upon tragedy after the two mass shooting massacres happened in the cities of California. He stated that he was paying a visit to the victims of the Monterey Park mass shooting and briefed them about what happened lately in Half Moon Bay.
Gavin added that the gun regulations of the state are falling and urged that the gun laws of the state be made stricter than earlier as the situation here is getting worse day by day.
