7 Dead in Half Moon Bay as California Confronts Another Mass Killing

Christina Passariello, Kelly Kasulis Cho, Annabelle Timsit, Jennifer Hassan, Ellen Francis, Praveena Somasundaram, María Luisa Paúl, Kelsey Ables, Timothy Bella, Andrea Salcedo and Maham Javaid / The Washington Post

Seven people were killed and one was critically injured in related shootings at two locations around this coastal city, San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said. The shooting was California’s second mass killing in three days, after the weekend massacre at a dance studio in Monterey Park that left at least 11 people dead.

Police arrested 67-year-old Zhao Chunli of Half Moon Bay at about 4:40 p.m. Monday, shortly after finding him in his vehicle at the parking lot of a San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office substation. Zhao is believed to have acted alone in the shootings, Corpus said.

Both sites are plant nurseries, including a mushroom farm, in a rural area, Corpus said, and Zhao is believed to be a worker at one of the locations. Corpus said the victims, who are still being identified by a coroner, are also believed to be farmworkers in Half Moon Bay, which is about a 40-minute drive from San Francisco and has a population of fewer than 11,400 people.