A farmworker killed seven people in back-to-back shootings in a case of "workplace violence" at two Northern California mushroom farms, officials said.
Chunli Zhao, 66, was booked on suspicion of seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, jail records showed. He was being held without bail and scheduled for a Wednesday court appearance.
Authorities believe Zhao acted alone when he entered a mushroom farm in Half Moon Bay, California, and opened fire, killing four and leaving another seriously wounded, San Mateo County Sheriff's officials said.
READ MORE: Half Moon Bay shooting: Man in custody after at least seven killed at two farms in California
He then drove to another nearby farm where he had previously worked, and killed another three people, said Eamonn Allen, a sheriff's spokesman.
Officials have not yet released the names of the five men and two women who died, nor the one man who was injured. Some were Asian and others were Hispanic, and some were migrant workers.
Allen declined to answer questions about whether Zhao had any previous criminal history, saying, "there were no specific indicators that would have led us to believe he was capable of something like this."
The sheriff's office identified the first shooting location as Mountain Mushroom Farm. But California Terra Garden took over the business last year, company spokesperson David Oates said.
He did not know how long Zhao worked there, adding that he was one of 35 employees who had stayed on when ownership changed. Oates declined to provide details of the four slain workers.
The site of the second shooting was nearby Concord Farms. Owner Aaron Tung said in a statement that the farm was waiting for more information before it could comment.
Half Moon Bay is a small, laid-back, coastal and agricultural city about 30 miles (50 kilometres) south of San Francisco.
Its sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean make it a popular spot for hikers and tourists.
Several farmworkers and their families lived in mobile homes at the the mushroom farm where the four died and had been relocated to hotels and offered mental health and other support after the shootings.
California was still reeling from an attack in Monterey Park, just outside Los Angeles, that killed 11 and cast a shadow over celebrations of Lunar New Year, an important holiday for many Asian American communities. Authorities are still seeking a motive for the Saturday shooting.
"For the second time in recent days, California communities are mourning the loss of loved ones in a senseless act of gun violence," President Joe Biden said on Tuesday.
"Even as we await further details on these shootings, we know the scourge of gun violence across America requires stronger action."
The new year has brought six mass killings in the US in fewer than three weeks, accounting for 39 deaths. Three have occurred in California since January 16.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said he met with Chinese farmworkers who heard the gunshots.
"The trauma and the damage, the devastation, is felt for generations in some cases, communities being torn asunder no one feeling safe," Newsom said.
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