7 killed in shooting in Half Moon Bay, California

The Half Moon Bay shooting suspect used a gun that was registered to him and had legal possession of a semi-automatic weapon, San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus told CNN.

Corpus said Zhao appeared to target the individuals he shot.

“We’re still learning more about this individual but there was nothing that would have elevated” any concern about him before the shooting, she said.

At least seven people were killed and one person critically injured Monday in shootings at two separate locations in the small coastal community in the San Francisco Bay area.

Authorities believe Zhao acted alone, with Corpus noting a motive was not known Monday night.

At least seven people were killed and one critically injured in shootings at two locations Monday in Half Moon Bay, California, officials said. The suspect, identified as 66-year-old Chunli Zhao, is in custody and a motive is still not known. 

One shooting took place at a mushroom farm and another near a trucking facility, approximately two miles from the farm, the San Mateo County sheriff said. 

Here's the latest on the shooting and investigation:

This post has been updated with new details about the gunman.

The man who police said killed seven people at two Half Moon Bay locations targeted his victims, according to San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus. 

The suspect, Chunli Zhao, was taken into custody on Monday while parked at a sheriff’s substation.

One shooting unfolded at a mushroom farm and another near a trucking facility about two miles away, according to San Mateo County Board of Supervisors President Dan Pine. Officers found four victims dead and one wounded at one site and three others dead at the other, Corpus said Monday.

The mushroom farm’s owners had no past knowledge of the gunman or his motive, they said in a statement.

Children and families who were at the shooting locations are in hotels, and the county has made available grief counselors for them, she said. 

“It opens our eyes that stressors of the world get to people and sometimes people end up snapping and I think we have to really look at mental wellness for everyone in our society,” Corpus said in response to a question about this massacre on the heels of the Monterey Park mass shooting.

“This is, I think, one of these issues where someone snapped, unfortunately — and people, innocent people were killed and I think, at least here in San Mateo County, this is something that we’re going to be looking at. It’s a tragedy,” she said.  

“We have to look at it from a multi-pronged approach, because it’s not just the guns, it’s also the individuals that have access to guns and those individuals that are suffering from mental illness or mental stressors,” she added. 

There have been 39 mass shootings in the United States so far this year — putting 2023 on pace to have the most mass shootings at this point than any year on record, according to the Gun Violence Archive (GVA). In a three-day span, three mass shootings have taken place in California, including Monday's shooting in Half Moon Bay.

The dangerous pace of mass shootings escalated in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic and has persisted since then. Between 2019 and 2020, the total number of mass shootings each year jumped from 417 to 610. Then, 2021 became the worst year for mass shootings since GVA began tracking them in 2012, with 690 across 44 states and Washington, DC. There were 647 mass shootings in 2022.

Here's a look at the rise of mass shootings across the years:

More on the data: CNN reports mass shootings based on data from the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit organization that tracks gun violence in the United States. CNN and the GVA define a mass shooting as a shooting that injured or killed four or more people, not including the shooter. The number of mass shootings and casualties is not exact and subject to change as reports from law enforcement, media and other sources GVA relies upon are updated and verified.

As the community in Half Moon Bay, California, reeled after the mass shooting that killed seven people on Monday, there were grief counselors present to provide emotional support, according to Ray Mueller of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.

"We had grief counselors with people last night. We weren't trying to break down what they thought of the event, we were trying to provide them emotional support," he told CNN on Tuesday.

There were children present at the site of the shooting, and while they are "incredibly resilient," Mueller said he spent time "playing soccer with one of them and trying to provide them with as much support as possible while we help their parents."

The community is "just completely overcome with sadness," he added, saying, "it is horrifying what has happened in our community."

There has been an "outpouring of love and compassion for our community — people showing up at the shelter late in the evening, bringing blankets, bringing food, working together," Mueller said.

The owners of a mushroom farm in an unincorporated area in San Mateo County where a gunman killed four people and wounded another before killing three more people at a nearby trucking facility said the killings have left them “shook” and that they have no past knowledge of the gunman or his motives.

In the statement, Concord Farms said it is a family-owned and operated mushroom farm that has been in its location for 37 years, It thanked the support of the community in the wake of the shooting and swift actions of law enforcement.

President Joe Biden says he is praying for the victims of the mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, California, and once again calling on Congress to “act quickly” and ban assault weapons.

“Even as we await further details on these shootings, we know the scourge of gun violence across America requires stronger action. I once again urge both chambers of Congress to act quickly and deliver this Assault Weapons Ban to my desk, and take action to keep American communities, schools, workplaces, and homes safe,” Biden added.

Children were present at the time of a mass shooting Monday that left at least seven people dead, San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said during a news conference on Monday night.

Corpus said the shooting was spread across two locations, including one where children were present, she said.

Half Moon Bay Vice Mayor Joaquin Jimenez said many family members wanted information on possible victims, but police have not publicly identified any of the victims.

Jimenez said he hopes this will be an eye-opener about gun violence in the Half Moon Bay community.

In an overnight statement, the city said the shooting that left seven dead “was a horrific event that has shocked our community, and our hearts go out to all individuals and families affected.”

“It’s something that we would never expect to happen here,” the city said. “We mourn the loss of those whose lives were taken by this horrendous act and send our condolences to their loved ones.” 

Mayor Deborah Penrose said she is “appalled and saddened at this terrible incident, which has completely shocked our community.”

Half Moon Bay continues to work with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office during the investigation. “The situation continues to unfold, and there is much that we simply do not know. In the coming days, as we learn more, we will come together to heal and take the necessary steps to ensuring that the safety of the community remains a top priority,” the city said.  

In an interview with CNN's Poppy Harlow, Penrose said that it's too early to know a motive and could not provide additional information about the ongoing investigation. 

"We do know is that some of the victims were Chinese, that the perpetrator was Chinese and that this was an agricultural community — they were agricultural workers," she said.