Father, Beloved Worker Among Half Moon Bay Shooting Victims

HALF MOON BAY, CA — A father and a beloved community volunteer were among seven people killed this week after police said a farmworker opened fire in two separate shootings in Half Moon Bay.

Residents throughout the Bay Area area gathered this week to remember those killed Monday when a gunman shot several coworkers in back-to-back shootings at two Northern California mushroom farms. At the same time, families are starting to share their stories.

Among those killed was 50-year-old Marciano Martinez Jimenez, a delivery person and manager at one of the farms. Originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, Martinez Jimenez lived in Half Moon Bay for 25 years, his brother wrote on GoFundMe.

His brother described Martinez Jimenez as hardworking. He volunteered for RotaCare Clinic in Half Moon Bay for many years and enjoyed giving back to his community.

"He was a good son, brother, uncle and a great friend for everyone that knew him," Servando Martinez wrote. "He took on the father role for all of us."

Chunli Zhao, 66, was charged Wednesday with seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in connection with the shootings. 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.

The San Mateo County Coroner's Office identified the victims Wednesday. They were:

• 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.

Perez was a husband and father who provided for his family in Oaxaca, Mexico, his eldest daughter told NBC Bay Area. His brother was the eighth person shot and is currently recovering in the hospital.

Perez's coworkers told The New York Times that he recently arrived in the United States but was greeted by his fellow Oaxacans as family. He leaned on fellow immigrants who spoke Spanish and Zapotec, commonly spoken in Oaxaca, to navigate life in California.

Perez's cousin, Jose Juarez, told Reuters their family is hoping for financial help to repatriate his body to Mexico.

"You look to improve your life, and then you end up with this," Juarez told Reuters.

In Half Moon Bay, memorials were left in various places and sites where the farmworkers were killed. Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered in Oakland on Wednesday to honor the Half Moon Bay victims and those killed in a recent shooting in Monterey Park.

"I want us to know that it's okay to feel all those feelings that you have and to know that there are friends, neighbors, loved ones, organizations that are here for you," Oakland City Council president Fortunato Bas said at the memorial, according to The East Bay Times.

San Francisco resident and recent UC Berkeley graduate Hannah Chea told the Times that the shootings had hit her hard.

"I think that's a big reason why I came out, to see the community come out and support rather than just, you know, scrolling and reading," Chea said. "I really wanted a physical place to see the community come together."

Zhao was set to make his first court appearance Wednesday but it was postponed until Feb. 16, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

Jonathan McDougall, Zhao's attorney, did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment.

Wagstaffe, speaking outside the courthouse Wednesday, declined to share any additional details on a motive in the killing of Zhao's current and former coworkers, saying he wanted to keep the details out of the public eye to ensure a fair trial. Sheriff's officials have said it was workplace violence.

The shootings happened at California Terra Garden, previously known as Mountain Mushroom Farm, and nearby Concord Farms.

Most farmworkers in the area are Latinos but the Mountain Mushroom Farm was one of the few that employed Asian workers, said Belinda Hernandez, executive director of ALAS, a farmworker advocacy group based in Half Moon Bay. She noted that mushroom farms offer the benefit of year-round work.

The shootings in Half Moon Bay were California's third mass shooting in eight days and the largest in San Mateo County's history, Wagstaffe said. It followed the killing of 11 people in Monterey Park amid Lunar New Year celebrations Saturday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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