Chunli Zhao, the suspect charged in the Half Moon Bay shooting that left seven people dead and one injured, admitted in a jailhouse interview Thursday with NBC Bay Area’s Janelle Wang that he carried out the shooting.
Zhao, who spoke to Wang in Mandarin for about 15 minutes at the San Mateo County Jail in Redwood City, said that after the shooting, he drove to the sheriff’s station to surrender.
Zhao said that he endured years of torture along with long hours of labor on farms, and these stories went unanswered. He also said he believed he was suffering from mental illness and was not in his right mind on the day of the shooting, Wang said.
Zhao told Wang that he has lived in the US for 11 years and has a green card. He bought the gun that was used to kill people in 2021 and did not face any obstacles in the purchase.
He also said he was sorry for the killings, Wang said.
Zhao said he has a wife who lives with him in Half Moon Bay and a 40-year-old daughter who lives in China.
See more in Wang’s video report above.
Six of the seven people killed Monday in Half Moon Bay were identified Wednesday, and families are grieving the loss of their loved ones. Bob Redell says.
After the mass shootings in Half Moon Bay and Monterey Park, Sen. Alex Padilla led a group of Democratic lawmakers calling for stricter gun laws. Bob Redell says.
