Half Moon Bay mass shooting updates: Workplace violence believed to be motive
A 67-year-old suspect is in custody, authorities said.
Seven people were killed on Monday in a mass shooting at two locations in Half Moon Bay, California, authorities said.
One person was also taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.
The suspect, 67-year-old Chunli Zhao, is in custody. Workplace violence is believed to be the motive, authorities said.
This is the state's second mass shooting in three days.
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Shooting took place at 2 separate nurseries, victims thought to be workers: Sheriff
San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said the department was dispatched at 2:22 p.m. local time with reports of a shooting in unincorporated San Mateo County with multiple victims.
At the first location, four people were found dead with gunshot wounds and a fifth person was taken to the hospital and is in critical condition, Corpus said during a press briefing Monday.
Shortly afterward, three additional victims were found dead at a separate location about a mile away, the sheriff said.
Both locations are nurseries, large rural properties, and some people live on site; children witnessed the shooting, Corpus said. The victims are thought to be workers.
The suspect is thought to be a farm worker, Corpus said.
The motive and the relationship between the victims and the suspect are unknown at this time. The suspect is cooperating and being interviewed, Corpus said.
-ABC News' Marilyn Heck
San Mateo County Sheriff's Office identifies suspect
The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office has identified the suspect as 67-year-old Half Moon Bay resident Chunli Zhao.
The sheriff's office located his vehicle at 4:40 p.m. local time in the parking lot of the Sheriff’s Office Half Moon Bay Police Substation, the department said in a press release.
Zhao was taken into custody without incident, the sheriff's office said, adding that he is believed to have acted alone.
A weapon was found in his vehicle, authorities said.
-ABC News' Alex Stone and Marilyn Heck
Biden has been briefed on San Mateo County shooting, White House says
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the mass shooting in San Mateo County, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted Monday night.
"He has asked federal law enforcement to provide any necessary assistance to the local authorities. As more details become available, the President will be updated," she wrote.
-ABC News' Molly Nagle
Sheriff's office responded to shooting incident 'with multiple victims'
The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office tweeted that it responded to a shooting incident "with multiple victims in the area of HWY 92 and the HMB [Half Moon Bay] City limits," later adding that a suspect is in custody and there is "no ongoing threat to the community at this time."
'Only in America do we see this kind of carnage': Newsom
California Gov. Gavin Newsom traveled to Half Moon Bay on Tuesday, offering strong words after three mass shootings have rocked the state in recent days.
"It's said all the time -- only in America," Newsom said during a press briefing. "No. 1 in gun ownership, no. 1 in gun deaths, it's not even complicated."
"The one common denominator are these damn guns," he continued. "I've got no ideological opposition to someone owning gun responsibility. But what the hell is wrong with us that we allow these weapons of war and large-capacity clips out on the streets or sidewalks? Why have we allowed this culture, this pattern to continue?"
Newsom applauded California's gun safety measures, though said, "One state can't do it alone," and criticized the Republican party for blocking gun safety reform "every step of the way."
"Only in America do we see this kind of carnage, this kind of chaos, this kind of destruction of communities and lives," Newsom said.
Five men and two women were killed in the Half Moon Bay shooting. A male survivor is currently hospitalized in stable condition, authorities said.
The workers were shot "execution-style," California Rep. Anna Eshoo said. The sheriff's office did not provide any further details amid the investigation.