On January 23, Chinese national Chunli Zhao, 66, allegedly killed seven people in a shooting at two farms in Half Moon Bay, California’s San Mateo County. Zhao was arrested shortly after the shooting.
While Chunli Zhao’s motive remains unconfirmed, San Mateo County authorities believe it stemmed from a workplace dispute. Zhao, who had previously worked as an employee at both farms, claimed that his supervisor had unfairly harassed him.
According to Fox, the shooting may have been sparked by the fact that a farm supervisor insisted that Chunli Zhao pay a $100 repair bill for a forklift that had reportedly broken down at the farm’s job site. he.
The coroner’s office identified the shooting victims as Zhishen Liu (73), Marciano Martinez Jimenez (50), Aixiang Zhang (74), Qizhong Cheng (66), Jingzhi Lu (64) and Yetao Bing (43). The seventh victim, José Romero Pérez, was identified in charging documents.
Although his supervisor and his wife were among the victims killed in the attack, officials have yet to release their names.
The events that allegedly led Chunli Zhao to commit the Half Moon Bay shootings
According to NPR, before the shooting, Chunli Zhao was using a forklift at work when he collided with a bulldozer being driven by one of his co-workers. After the incident, the farm supervisor allegedly blamed Zhao for the accident and demanded that he pay a $100 repair bill.
The New York Post reported that on the day of the shooting, Zhao had gone to Mountain Mushroom Farm to confront the supervisor about the bill.
Sources claim that when the supervisor insisted that he pay the bill, the suspect fatally shot him, the co-worker involved in the incident, and two others. A fifth victim on the scene, Pedro Romero Pérez, was also shot but survived the incident. He then reportedly proceeded to the Concord farm, where he fatally shot three others.
In an interview with KNTV-TV, Zhao said he was angry that the supervisor forced him to work long hours and refused to listen to his complaints. The suspect added that he has lived and worked in the US for 11 years with a green card.
Zhao’s motivations may also have been triggered by anger issues, as court documents show the suspect has a history of violence. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that in 2013 he was accused of threatening his roommate before trying to suffocate him with a pillow.
The roommate, Jingjiu Wang, said:
“Mr. Zhao told me, today I am going to kill you. Then he took a pillow and began to cover my face and suffocate me.”
If he is found guilty of the murders, Zhao could face the death penalty.
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