A mass shooting at a farm and a nearby location in California that killed seven people was most likely the result of “workplace violence,” according to police.
The incident occurred on Tuesday in the coastal city of Half Moon Bay. Some of those killed were Chinese-Americans.
Chunli Zhao, 66, was apprehended after driving to the police station.
The incident occurred only two days after 11 people were killed during Lunar New Year celebrations in Monterey Park, south-east of Half Moon Bay.
The two shootings happened so close together that California Governor Gavin Newsom was meeting with victims of the first attack in a hospital when he was informed of the second.
He expressed frustration with US gun laws, and said in an emotional news conference that he had grown tired of having to “say the same things we hear again and again” in the aftermath of mass shootings.
“What the hell is wrong with us that we allow these weapons of war and high-capacity clips to be carried on the streets and sidewalks?”
According to police, the suspect in Half Moon Bay used a legally purchased semi-automatic handgun and acted alone.
He was a resident of the city, which is located south of San Francisco, and worked at the Mountain Mushroom Farm, according to police.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, a former coworker had previously obtained a restraining order against Zhao due to his violent behavior.
The names of the five men and two women killed in the shooting have not yet been released. Some of the people were Asian, while others were Hispanic.
Half Moon Bay Mayor Deborah Penrose told CNN on Tuesday that they were all agricultural workers.
Four of the victims were discovered at a mushroom farm, while the remaining three were discovered at a nearby trucking company.
According to San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus, an eighth victim who was transported to the hospital is out of surgery and in stable condition.
“The only link between the suspects and the victims is that they may have worked together,” Sheriff Corpus explained.
“Every piece of evidence points to this being an instance of workplace violence.”
California Terra Garden, the farm’s operator, later confirmed that the suspect lived at one of the two locations where people were killed.
According to US media, Zhao is scheduled to appear in court later on Wednesday.