Half Moon Bay attack was ‘workplace violence,’ officials say

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. — California’s efforts to reduce gun violence have long been a point of pride among the state’s liberal lawmakers. But a sense of futility and despair infused the response of many political leaders Tuesday in the bitter aftermath of three major shootings in as many days.

At least 19 people have been fatally shot in mass attacks in California over the past week. On Saturday evening, a 72-year-old gunman opened fire inside a dance studio popular with the elderly Asian American community in this city on the edge of Los Angeles; 11 people died. On Monday, two shootings in the Bay Area killed eight people.

The family of Chia Ling Yau, who was killed in the Monterey Park shooting, issued a statement Tuesday:

“Chia Ling ‘Charlie’ Yau was a caring father, uncle, brother and friend. He was a happy, fun-loving individual who believed in living life to the fullest. Taking every opportunity to cultivate his love of music, dance and travel, he often expressed gratitude for life and reflected upon the lessons he learned. He treasured his friendships, and enjoyed spending time with the people he loved. He was always there for the family with a helping hand. As a father, he was generous with words of love and affirmation. Chia Ling’s passing was a tragedy and he will be dearly missed. The family would like to send their condolences to the other families who have been impacted by this heartbreaking event.”

A spokeswoman for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he had ordered the flags at the U.S. Capitol to be flown at half-staff “in order to honor the lives lost and victims impacted due to the tragic events from this weekend.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) spent Monday in Monterey Park, talking with people after the shooting. Now, Tuesday night, he was in Half Moon Bay, heated and holding a list of previous mass killings in the United States and California.

“Only in America,” he said, “do we see this kind of carnage, this kind of chaos, this kind of destruction of communities and lives and confidence and a sense of safety and belonging, which we all yearn for, regardless of our political stripes.”

While state lawmakers at the news conference indicated they would discuss possible new gun legislation, Newsom said it was the federal government that needed to pass gun-control laws.

A San Mateo County Sheriff’s cruiser on Tuesday blocked off the driveway leading to the Mountain Mushroom Farm, where four people were found dead and another seriously wounded on Monday in Half Moon Bay.

A cluster of farm buildings was partially visible, set amid the cypress and eucalyptus trees on a sloping hillside a couple of miles inland from the Pacific Coast. The mushroom farm is one of several landscape and garden-related businesses in the area.

The killings have rattled neighbors, who described the violence as starkly out of character for the tranquil seaside community and its network of family farms that have operated for generations.

Farmworkers in the area — who were already hit hard both by the pandemic and by California’s recent storms and flooding — are now fearful about going back to work, said Half Moon Bay Vice Mayor Joaquin Jimenez.

“Many of you come to our community for the pumpkins and ignore the farmworkers. Not today,” he said. “We’re not ignoring anybody.”

The county will provide income replacement to workers at the two farms as long as their workplaces are closed, San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said he had spoken to some workers who witnessed the shootings, who he said were Chinese immigrants. They were so unfamiliar with gun violence, he said, that when they saw their friends get shot, they believed they were acting.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday evening, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he wanted to express condolences to the families of the victims in the two shootings.

Asked whether Congress intended to take up legislation to prevent gun violence, McCarthy said he would wait for more information about the shootings. “California has the strictest gun laws there are, and apparently that did not work in this situation, too,” he said.

Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.) said the victims of the attack were killed “execution-style.”

“They were killed with purpose, with intent, execution-style,” she said, “and this community, California and the country is reeling from it.”

The sheriff would not confirm Eshoo’s comment about how the victims were killed, saying she couldn’t confirm details of an ongoing investigation.

Asked what new gun laws he might want in California, Newsom called on the federal government to pass legislation, saying his state has robust laws but is “not isolated.”

“The federal government needs to do its job. But let’s call it out: You have one party that are obstructionists,” he said, naming McCarthy and two judges. “Do your damn job. You care about public safety? B.S. Unless you are addressing the number-one cause of death for children last year, and that’s guns, don’t lay claim that you give a damn about public safety.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) called out House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R) over not contacting him after the two mass shootings in his native state.

“I’m still waiting for Kevin McCarthy, the leader of the House of Representatives who purports to represent the people of the state of California," he said at a news conference. “We haven’t heard one … word from him. Not since Monterey Park, not since what happened here, not one word.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) met victims from the Monterey Park shooting who were recovering in a hospital, he said at a Tuesday news conference on the shootings in Half Moon Bay. One victim, whose leg was shattered, worried about the incoming hospital costs and potentially losing his job. Another was on life support when Newsom met him but later died, the governor said.

The Lunar New Year celebration began with revelers dancing under colorful lights. It ended with 11 lives cut violently short and memorial flowers piling up on the pavement.

The mass killing at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio on Saturday night has devastated the majority-Asian community of Monterey Park, Calif., which residents affectionately refer to as the nation’s first suburban Chinatown. The five men and six women killed in the gunfire had gathered for what organizers described as the studio’s biggest party of the year.