What was Chunli Zhao's motive? Half Moon Bay mass shooter details bullying and long hours on farms
SAN MATEO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: A 66-year-old farmworker accused of killing seven Chinese farm workers in Half Moon Bay, California, is believed to have carried out the shootings over a $100 repair bill for damaged equipment. Chunli Zhao allegedly shot four farmers at Half Moon Bay, followed by Mountain Mushroom Farm and Rice Trucking. He later killed three more at a trucking company that was two miles away.
Chunli Zhao was arrested and taken into custody by the police on Monday, January 23. The coroner’s office has named six of the victims: Zhishen Liu, 73, of San Francisco; Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50, of Moss Beach, 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. Jose Romero Perez was identified as the other person killed and Pedro Romero Perez as the eighth victim, who survived, as per New York Post.
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What was Chunli Zhao's motive?
Chunli Zhao told investigators he was furious over a bill on Monday, accusing him of wrongful damage to heavy construction equipment. The disgruntled worker blamed the forklift damage for being caused by his co-worker’s bulldozer. Zhao claimed he was driving the forklift when it collided with the co-worker's bulldozer, insisting his co-worker had to be blamed but his supervisor alleged he had to pay $100 for the damage.
Enraged, Zhao then allegedly shot the supervisor and two co-workers, according to prosecutors. The 66-year-old then went to one of the co-worker's trailers and killed his wife. In the shooting, a fifth co-worker was wounded. Later he went to a nearby Concord Farms where he had worked previously and fatally shot three former co-workers who he felt had wronged him, said authorities. Zhao reportedly opened fire in front of two children who had been released from school for the day.
Zhao who has been in the US for nearly 11 years and is a green card holder, detailed years of bullying and long hours on the farms, in an interview, according to the source. The mass shooter also said he believes he suffers from some kind of mental illness and was not in the right mind the day he carried out the rampage. Speaking in Mandarin from a county jail in Redwood City, Zhao said he lives with his wife in Half Moon Bay and has a 40-year daughter who lives in China. Zhao claimed to have purchased the gun in 2021 with no obstacles while making the purchase.
