California authorities establish six of the seven victims, as US reels from mass shootings and gun violence ‘epidemic’.The accused gunman in a mass capturing that left seven individuals lifeless at two northern California mushroom farms in the US has been charged with seven counts of homicide and one in all tried homicide.
Chunli Zhao, 66, was the lone suspect in Monday’s capturing, which authorities described as “office violence”, within the city of Half Moon Bay close to San Francisco.
The costs towards Zhao had been introduced on Wednesday, hours earlier than he was set to seem in courtroom for the primary time.
The Half Moon Bay tragedy was the second main mass capturing in California in three days. On Saturday, 11 individuals had been fatally shot within the Los Angeles space city of Monterey Park amid Lunar New 12 months celebrations.
The San Mateo County coroner’s workplace recognized six of the seven victims within the Half Moon Bay capturing on Wednesday, and officers mentioned there have been some migrant employees amongst them.
The victims had been: Zhishen Liu, 73, of San Francisco; Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50, of Moss Seashore, California; Aixiang Zhang, 74, of San Francisco; Qizhong Cheng, 66, of Half Moon Bay; Jingzhi Lu, 64, of Half Moon Bay; and Yetao Bing, 43, whose hometown was unknown.
The seventh sufferer was “tentatively” recognized, however the title has been withheld as authorities work to inform family, the coroner’s workplace mentioned.
Servando Martinez Jimenez mentioned his brother Marciano Martinez Jimenez was a supply individual and supervisor at one of many farms. He by no means talked about Zhao or mentioned something about issues with different employees.
“He was a superb individual. He was well mannered and pleasant with everybody. He by no means had any issues with anybody. I don’t perceive why all this occurred,” Martinez Jimenez informed the Related Press information company.
Martinez Jimenez had lived in the US for 28 years after arriving from the Mexican state of Oaxaca. His brother Servando mentioned he’s working with the Mexican consulate to get his brother’s physique residence.
Authorities say Zhao acted alone on Monday when he entered a mushroom farm the place he labored in Half Moon Bay, capturing and killing 4 individuals and significantly wounding a fifth. He then drove to a close-by farm the place he had labored beforehand and killed three extra individuals, mentioned Eamonn Allen, a sheriff’s workplace spokesperson.
The costs embody extra components that might consequence within the loss of life penalty or life in jail with out parole, however Governor Gavin Newsom has issued a pause on executions in California.
These components embody that Zhao used a gun, brought about nice bodily harm, killed a number of individuals and had a previous felony conviction. No extra particulars had been offered on the prior felony.
The high-profile massacres in California — two of the 40 mass shootings the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive has recorded within the US for the reason that begin of 2023 — have renewed calls to curb gun violence, as a number of Democrats advocated for stricter gun laws.
“We’re solely 25 days into 2023 and 1,230 individuals have died from gun violence in the US to date,” Congressman Sean Casten, an Illinois Democrat, wrote on Twitter. “69 of those deaths had been in mass shootings. That is unacceptable. It’s time for an #AssaultWeaponsBan NOW.”
Democrat Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, who represents a California district, additionally known as for motion towards gun violence.
“At this time we noticed a second of silence for the victims of the Lunar New 12 months capturing in Monterey Park,” she mentioned in a social media publish. “However silence, ideas, and prayers gained’t carry again the 11 lives misplaced or ease their households’ therapeutic. We have to take motion and eventually finish the gun violence epidemic.”