Seven people were killed and another severely injured in shootings that took place at two separate locations in Northern California, the local sheriff’s office said, adding that a suspect had been taken into custody.
(Bloomberg) — Seven people were killed and another severely injured in shootings that took place at two separate locations in Northern California, the local sheriff’s office said, adding that a suspect had been taken into custody.
Four of the people were found shot to death at a garden nursery in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco. Another person was wounded and taken to a hospital in critical condition, San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus told reporters on Monday evening. The other three bodies were discovered at a separate nursery with gunshot wounds, she told reporters.
“This kind of shooting is horrific,” Corpus said, adding the victims appeared to be workers at the nurseries, but that has yet to be confirmed.
The suspect was identified as Chunli Zhao, 67. He was located in the parking lot of a sheriff’s office substation and arrested. A pistol was found in his car and he is cooperating with authorities, Corpus said. The gunman is believed to have acted alone, she added.
“The motive for the shooting is currently unknown,” the sheriff said, adding the department is looking into whether the suspect was a worker at the facilities.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that President Joe Biden had been briefed on the San Mateo shootings. “He has asked federal law enforcement to provide any necessary assistance to the local authorities,” she tweeted Monday evening.
The shootings took place two days after another gunman killed 11 people at a ballroom dance club near Los Angeles on Saturday night. He then drove to another dance hall, but an employee took a gun from him, according to the Associated Press. The suspect, identified as Huu Can Tran, 72, later killed himself in the van he had used to flee as police closed in.
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