California Sees 2 More Mass Shootings, Leaving 8 Dead

That makes 3 mass shootings in the state in 3 days
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 23, 2023 9:39 PM CST
Updated Jan 24, 2023 6:54 AM CST
Another Mass Shooting in California Leaves 7 Dead
Law enforcement personnel control the scene of a shooting Monday, Jan. 23, 2023, in Half Moon Bay, Calif.   (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Just days after the mass shooting in Monterey Park that killed 11, a pair of mass shootings in California left eight dead Monday. Shootings took place at two separate locations about a mile apart in Half Moon Bay, a coastal community in the northern part of the state, killing a total of seven people. It was a bloody day in the area: The AP notes that a shootout at an Oakland gas station some 25 miles away on Monday evening killed one person and injured seven. Officers arriving at the Valero gas station around 6pm found at least 19 shell casings and no victims; all had self-transported to the hospital.

Police say the suspected Half Moon Bay gunman, 67-year-old Zhao Chunli, drove between the two sites, the New York Times reports. The victims were Chinese farmworkers, NBC Bay Area reports. Some workers lived at one of the locations where shootings took place, and children were present during the violence. "For children to witness this is unspeakable," San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus says. Four people were found dead around 2:22pm at a mushroom farm, as well as a fifth person with life-threatening injuries, KTVU reports.

Three more people were found dead shortly after that near a soil farm. The suspect was found in his vehicle at a sheriff's substation around 4:40pm and was taken into custody without incident; a semi-automatic handgun was found in his car. "At the hospital meeting with victims of a mass shooting when I get pulled away to be briefed about another shooting," California Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted. "Tragedy upon tragedy." A source tells ABC 7 the suspect worked at one of the farms. (More California stories.)

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