Accused Half Moon Bay Shooter Charged; Victims Identified

HALF MOON BAY, CA — A farmworker accused of killing seven people and critically injuring another in two separate shootings in Half Moon Bay earlier this week has been formally charged with murder, according to court documents.

Chunli Zhao, 66, is accused of killing several coworkers in back-to-back shootings at two Northern California mushroom farms on Monday. Authorities believe Zhao acted alone when he entered a mushroom farm in Half Moon Bay and opened fire, killing four and leaving another seriously wounded, San Mateo County Sheriff's officials said.

Authorities said Zhao then drove to another farm where he had previously worked and killed another three people.

• RELATED: 7 Dead In Half Moon Bay Shootings: CA Farm Owners' Shook'

According to court documents, Zhao was formally charged Wednesday with seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

The charges include additional allegations that could result in the death penalty or life in prison without parole, though Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued a moratorium on executions. Among those allegations are that Zhao used a gun, caused great bodily injury and killed multiple people.

It was not immediately clear whether Zhao had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

The San Mateo County Coroner's Office identified the following victims Wednesday:

• Zhishen Liu, 73, of San Francisco
• Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50, of Moss Beach
• Aixiang Zhang, 74, of San Francisco
• Qizhong Cheng, 66, of Half Moon Bay
• Yetao Bing, 43, residence unknown
• Jingzhi Lu, 64, of Half Moon Bay

The seventh victim, Jose Romero Perez, was identified in charging documents filed against Zhao, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

On Wednesday, a Chronicle report discovered that Zhao was previously accused of threatening to split a co-worker's head open with a knife.

According to court documents obtained by Chronicle, Zhao also tried to suffocate the man. The incident happened a decade ago at another Bay Area job, the Chronicle reported.

The two were roommates, according to the Chronicle, and worked at a restaurant at the time. The man filed a temporary restraining order against Zhao that was granted but is no longer in effect.

Authorities on Tuesday identified the first target in Monday's shooting as Mountain Mushroom Farm. California Terra Garden took over the business last year, company spokesperson David Oates said. While police confirmed Tuesday that Zhao was an employee, Oates did not know how long he worked there but was one of 35 employees who had stayed on when ownership changed.

The site of the second shooting was nearby Concord Farms. Owner Aaron Tung said in a statement that the farm was waiting for more information before it could comment.

Concord Farms issued a statement Tuesday following the shooting.

"With no past knowledge with this gunman or his motives, we are shook and very eager to gain more information from the authorities and their investigations," the business said in a statement provided to CNN. "Our hearts are with the victims, their families and the Chinese American community—from Half Moon Bay to Monterey Park."

Zhao was arrested Monday after police found him in his car in the parking lot of a sheriff's substation, Corpus said.

A video of the arrest showed three officers approaching a parked car with drawn weapons. Zhao got out of the vehicle, and the officers pulled him to the ground, put him in handcuffs, and led him away, the video shows. A semiautomatic handgun was found in his vehicle, officials said.

Servando Martinez Jimenez told The Associated Press that his brother, Marciano Martinez Jimenez was among those killed. Servando Martinez Jimenez said his brother, who worked as a delivery person and manager at one of the farms, never mentioned Zhao or said anything about problems with other workers.

"He was a good person. He was polite and friendly with everyone. He never had any problems with anyone. I don't understand why all this happened," Servando Martinez Jimenez said in Spanish outside his Half Moon Bay home.

Officials haven't determined a motive for the shooting but said Zhao is cooperating with attorneys and law enforcement.

Zhao is expected to appear in court Wednesday for his initial felony arraignment, the District Attorney's office told KRON. The DA's office expects to file charges against Zhao Wednesday morning.

Monday's shooting marked the third mass killing in California in eight days.

The shootings in Half Moon Bay came two days after an attack on a Lunar New Year celebration in Monterey Park killed 11 and cast a shadow over an important holiday for many Asian-American communities. Authorities are still seeking a motive for the Saturday shooting.

On Jan. 16, a teenage mother and her baby were among six people killed in a shooting at a home in California's Central Valley.

The new year has brought six mass killings in the United States in fewer than three weeks, accounting for 39 deaths. Three have occurred in California since Jan. 16, according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University. The database tracks every mass killing — defined as four dead, not including the offender — in the United States since 2006.

At an afternoon news conference, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he met with Chinese farmworkers who heard the gunshots. Speaking through a translator, they said it was hard to comprehend what was happening, he said.

The shooting was likely to leave some in the community fearful and searching for other work, he said.

"The trauma and the damage, the devastation, is felt for generations in some cases, communities being torn asunder no one feeling safe," Newsom said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.