January 25, 2023 Latest on Half Moon Bay mass shooting

The mass shooting in Half Moon Bay was the first time seven murders happened in one incident in the history of San Mateo County, the county's district attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.  

“This is, by a large amount … the single most victims of homicide in one course of conduct within a short time period,” he said. “This one is in a category that is way beyond anything we’ve ever dealt with. I'm sorry that we have joined the list of counties around this country that have had to deal with this.”  

He said the previous incident with the highest number of people murdered at one time in San Mateo County included four people.

Chunli Zhao, 66, is accused of shooting eight people at two locations in Half Moon Bay. According to Wagstaffe, Zhao's gun was a Ruger semiautomatic firearm. Search warrants have been executed but are currently under seal, Wagstaffe said.

Zhao is facing seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder for his alleged role in the massacre. There are no plans at this time to add any additional charges to the indictment as prosecutors have charged Zhao to the fullest extent of the law, Wagstaffe said. 

"The San Mateo County District Attorney's office will do everything in its power working with the sheriff's office to make sure that justice is done here and that the right outcome occurs," he said. 

Chunli Zhao, who allegedly shot eight people in Half Moon Bay Monday, gave a statement to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s office after being taken into custody, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Wednesday.  

The interview was conducted through a translator who speaks Mandarin, and an attorney was not present because Zhao did not request one, Wagstaffe said.  

Zhao is a Chinese citizen, and while he previously had proper documentation to be in the country, it is not immediately clear what his current immigration status is, Wagstaffe said.  

The sheriff’s office is currently looking to see if Zhao has any other criminal history, and acknowledged there is an incident in another county that it is looking into, Wagstaffe said.  

Prosecutors do not believe the suspect in the Half Moon Bay shooting was trying to copy the Monterey Park mass shooting that happened less than 48 hours earlier, according to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Eleven people died and nine others were wounded in the shooting at a dance studio in Monterey Park, in the Los Angeles area, on Saturday night.

“We believe that the answer is no to that, not just simply we’re not sure. We believe the answer is no,” he said.   

Wagstaffe said officials do know if the suspect, Chunli Zhao, targeted his victims but refused to share the answer at this time.

The district attorney’s office will now oversee all communications regarding the case and will do so on a limited basis as there is a concern about the level of publicity the case is getting, he said.

“We want to make sure that this man gets a fair trial, that the victim’s families get justice through a fair trial, and that the case gets tried here in the community in which it was committed,” Wagstaffe added.  

The gunman accused of killing seven people in Half Moon Bay, California, could face a sentence of life without parole or the death penalty if convicted, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Wednesday.

"Making that decision on the death penalty is something that will take place over the course of the next many many months as we do," he said. "We have so much more to learn about this individual, about the victims and their families and the harm that's been inflicted here. So we have a long way to go before we make that decision, but at this point, those are the two possible penalties."

Chunli Zhao, 66, made his first courtroom appearance Wednesday. He did not enter a plea, but Wagstaffe said he expects that he will plead not guilty "and the system will go forward."

According to Wagstaffe, Zhao is not a US citizen but had been in the country for at least a decade.

Chunli Zhao, the 66-year-old man accused of killing seven people and injuring one in Half Moon Bay, California, is expected to be arraigned on Feb. 16 after a California judge approved a defense attorney's request to postpone Wednesday’s hearing.

Zhao, who appeared before the court behind glass in an area sectioned off for inmates, covered his face with a yellow sheet of paper when he first entered the courtroom. His hands were shaking and shackled.

A Mandarin language translator was used to deliver communications between the court and Zhao.

It was ruled in court that Zhao will be held in custody without bail.

A note was left in the car used by the Half Moon Bay suspect, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Wednesday after his first courtroom appearance.

Officials "do have a feeling on the motive based on what he has told us," he said.

Wagstaffe was asked if there was a note in the car. He confirmed there was, but refused to elaborate.

Chunli Zhao is charged with seven counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and is being held in custody until his arraignment on Feb. 16. The murder counts all include enhancements for the use of a firearm, great bodily injury and multiple murder.

Wagstaffe said Zhao was "cooperative" in his interview with the sheriff's detectives

"There's an awful lot more to learn," he said.

CNN’s Paul Vercammen, Kevin Flower & Stella Chan contributed reporting.

The San Mateo County Coroner’s Office released the names of six of the seven people who were fatally shot Monday in Half Moon Bay, California. 

The victims, whose ages range from 43 to 74, are as follows: 

• Yetao Bing, 43, unknown residence
• Qizhong Cheng, 66, Half Moon Bay
• Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50, Moss Beach
• Aixiang Zhang, 74, San Francisco
• Jingzhi Lu, 64, Half Moon Bay
• Zhishen Liu, 73, San Francisco

The seventh victim has been tentatively identified but the coroner’s office is withholding the name pending positive identification and next-of-kin notification.

On Tuesday, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s office said the seven people who were fatally shot were five men and two women. The eighth person who was shot survived and is a male.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misspelled Jingzhi Lu's last name.

At least two of the people killed and the wounded survivor from Monday’s Half Moon Bay massacre are Mexican nationals, according to the Consulate General of Mexico in San Francisco. 

“The Consul General of Mexico in San Francisco and officers from the Consular Protection Department are at the scene to continue providing support to relatives of the victims and the Mexican families displaced by these events,” it said in a statement. 

On Monday, Chunli Zhao allegedly shot eight people across two locations in Half Moon Bay – killing seven people and wounding one. 

On Tuesday, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s office said all eight victims were either of Asian or Hispanic descent. 

The coroner’s office has not yet identified the victims.

At a press conference Tuesday, San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said the victims were part of the migrant community, which provided a challenge for notifications and identification of next-of-kin.

The San Mateo County district attorney plans to file murder charges against suspect Chunli Zhao for Monday’s shootings in Half Moon Bay, California.

“This morning, we will be filing a felony complaint on the Half Moon Bay multiple murder case charging seven counts of murder, one count of multiple murder, firearm use enhancement on each count and a special circumstance allegation of multiple murder,” according to an email from District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. 

Zhao allegedly fatally shot seven people and injured one across two shooting locations. 

He will be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. PT (4:30 p.m. ET) in Redwood City, California.