Dispute over US$100 repair bill may have sparked Half Moon Bay gun massacre
- Suspect Chunli Zhao has admitted to killing seven fellow farmworkers last week in California’s Half Moon Bay
- Shootings happened after supervisor demanded Zhao pay US$100 to repair a forklift damaged at work
The suspected gunman accused of killing seven people last week at two farms in California’s Half Moon Bay told investigators a dispute with his supervisor over a bill for machinery repair sparked the massacre, authorities said.
The suspect, whom authorities identified as Chunli Zhao, 66, told law enforcement he became angry after being told by his supervisor at California Terra Garden, the site of the first attack, that he had to pay US$100 to service a forklift that was damaged in a crash with a bulldozer, which was reported in local news outlets and confirmed by San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
Zhao told law enforcement he became agitated trying to explain the crash was not his fault. He told police he then killed the supervisor and a colleague, authorities said.
“This was the final straw,” Wagstaffe told The Los Angeles Times.
The other victims were not involved in the dispute over the crash, but Wagstaffe said the suspect told investigators he went about targeting people with whom he had had other problems in the past.
After the first two people were shot, Wagstaffe said, Zhao went about to “settle all (his) grievances”.