The shooting was reported the evening of May 17, 2022 at Jack Ferrell Park, involving several men opening fire with several bystanders on scene. Four men were hit; one of them, Ralph Fields Jr. — a cousin of Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver and East Palo Alto native Davante Adams — died at the hospital.

Early on, East Palo Alto police emphasized that the shooting was not random, and tallied 33 shots fired between three rounds of gunfire. A week after the shooting, police announced that two people had been arrested.

Police said an investigation, which came to involve the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office, Atherton police and the U.S. Marshals Service, eventually identified four suspects: East Palo Alto residents Miguel Bracamontes, 21, and Luis Mariscal, 38; Michael McNack, 20, of Union City; and Bobby Williams, 49, of San Francisco.

District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said the shooting appeared to be the result of a chance encounter at the park between two groups with an existing conflict. Police added that Bracamontes, Mariscal and McNack were on one side and exchanged gunfire with Williams, who was wounded in the battle.

On Wednesday, authorities announced that the four men were indicted by a criminal grand jury Aug. 4 on multiple charges related to the shooting, including assault with a deadly weapon and discharge of a firearm with gross negligence. By the time the indictment was issued, all of the suspects other than McNack were already in jail custody for unrelated charges. Marshals arrested McNack at his home Tuesday.

Absent from the indictment are any homicide-related charges directly related to the death of Fields. Wagstaffe said prosecutors evaluated the case for potential murder and manslaughter charges, but concluded that the rapid unfolding of the shootout prevented them from gathering sufficient evidence to prove criminal responsibility in Fields’ death.

“We cannot discern from witness statements and the limited video, and cannot prove that people were not acting in self defense, one way or another. It was really a chaotic scene,” Wagstaffe said, adding that the evidence “did support people carrying weapons they were not supposed to be carrying, and the other charges.”

The four defendants were scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in a Redwood City courtroom. East Palo Alto Police Chief Jeff Liu lauded the investigative effort and its “mission to hold every gunman accountable for their decision to fire guns in a park full of kids.”

Omenihu, 25, was arrested by San Jose police in January and charged with two misdemeanor counts of domestic battery and a misdemeanor count of illegally destroying, removing or obstructing the use of a wireless communication device.

The criminal case was resolved when Omenihu reached an agreement with prosecutors in which the battery counts were dismissed after he pleaded no contest to the third charge, completed community service, and underwent 32 hours of counseling, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.

After his arrest, a San Jose police investigation determined that Omenihu’s girlfriend called 911 from his Santana Row apartment to report that he was trying to “beat her.” About 30 minutes before that call, police said Omenihu got angry at his girlfriend after searching her phone and finding “a message that upset him on the victim’s Instagram account,” followed by him repeatedly yelling at her and spitting in her face.

Police wrote in an investigative summary submitted to prosecutors that Omenihu told the woman to leave his home, and at one point tried to remove a shirt she was wearing that he claimed belonged to him, and then grabbed her arm and swung her into a wall.

Omenihu reportedly grabbed the woman’s phone as she was making the 911 call and disconnected the call, and as the woman left the apartment, police say Omenihu pushed her into a wall and caused her to fall.

When talking to responding police officers, the woman told them that weeks earlier, she and Omenihu were arguing when he pushed her into a wall, causing injuries to her lower body.

Omenihu can practice with the Chiefs and play in exhibition games but is suspended without pay for the first six weeks and return in Week 7.

Acquired by San Francisco from the Houston Texans in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick at the 2021 trade deadline, Omenihu finished the season with the 49ers and played in all 17 regular season games last season. He started three times and finished with 4 1/2 sacks and three tackles for losses. Omenihu was second on the 49ers with 16 quarterback hits.

At the time of the arrest, the 49ers said they were aware of the arrest and were in the process of gathering information. Omenihu had no comment and played in the NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia that week.

A free agent following the season, Omenihu signed a two-year contract worth a maximum of $16 million which guaranteed him $8.6 million at signing. The suspension will cost Omenihu six game checks at approximately $60,000 each — the prorated amount of his $1,080,000 salary.

While the Chiefs moved quickly to sign Omenihu in free agency, the 49ers instead signed former Raiders end and first-round draft pick Clelin Ferrell to a one-year contract and also signed Austin Bryant of the Detroit Lions.

The captain, Randall “Randy” Schriefer, was driving a Dodge Ram pickup truck towing a travel trailer north on I-5 near Corning in Tehama County — about 30 miles northwest of Chico, where he attended college — when the driver of a southbound Infiniti sedan crossed the center divider and hit Schriefer’s vehicle head-on, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Schriefer, a 52-year-old Morgan Hill resident, died at the scene, the CHP confirmed Monday. Schriefer’s wife Kelly, 48, was riding in the truck and was seriously injured in the crash; she was airlifted to a local hospital, CHP said.

In a statement posted on social media, the San Jose Police Department said Schriefer “served our city with distinction and unwavering commitment for 23 years” and that his death has left “a void that will be felt by all those who knew and loved him.”

“Let us always remember and honor his life, his legacy, and the indelible impact he made on our community,” the post reads. “We are completely heartbroken by the news and will forever cherish his memory.”

All four occupants of the Infiniti, who hailed from San Diego, were not wearing seat belts and were thrown from their car, according to the CHP. They all died at the scene. The Infiniti driver was listed as a 46-year-old man, and the passengers included a 47-year-old man, a 36-year-old woman and an 8-year-old girl.

Officer Jason Thinnes, a spokesperson for the CHP Red Bluff area field office and a member of the agency’s accident investigation team, said the woman who died was seven months pregnant; her unborn child did not survive the crash.

Thinnes said that an explanation for why the Infiniti driver traveled into oncoming traffic remains under investigation, adding that multiple eyewitnesses are being interviewed.

Schriefer joined SJPD in 1999 after 3½ years working as a CHP officer in Los Angeles and San Jose, according to his LinkedIn page.

As a San Jose officer and supervisor, he worked patrol, investigated and oversaw investigations into robberies, child exploitation and human trafficking cases, headed policing at the airport, and commanded the internal affairs division. As a captain, he was a patrol supervisor, headed the overall investigations bureau, and at the time of his August 2022 retirement was overseeing field training and crime prevention programs at the department.

At the time of his death, he was working as an emergency services manager for Amazon. Schriefer was an active Chico State University alum, serving as a board member for the school’s alumni association. He earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology in 1994, and for about a year and a half coinciding with the start of his law-enforcement career he worked as an orthopedic consultant.

Mark Hendry, president of the Chico State Alumni Association, said he was shocked to hear the news about Schriefer, who had been on the board for over a year and attended quarterly meetings.

“It’s sad that he’s gone so soon,” Hendry said. “He was a great asset to the board and brought a lot of good ideas to the meetings so it’s very sad to hear what happened.”

Chico Enterprise-Record staff writer Jake Hutchinson contributed to this report.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has charged Jennifer Ann Gries, 25, of Santa Clara, with two felony counts of perjury and two misdemeanor counts of making a false crime report.

In a statement, District Attorney Jeff Rosen called the allegations against Gries “a rare and deeply destructive crime” that affects “legitimate sexual assault victims who wonder if they will be believed.” Assistant DA Terry Harman, who is overseeing the prosecution, echoed that idea.

“When you make a false allegation of sexual assault, it’s an insult to all of those who have survived sexual assault,” Harman said. “You are mocking their pain and experience and using it in a way that is so destructive.”

Gries was arrested Wednesday and booked at the Santa Clara County jail, then was released pending an April 17 arraignment. Gries works for housing services at the university.

A joint statement from Stanford Vice Provost Patrick Dunkley and Laura Wilson, director of the Stanford Department of Public Safety, said the school “will be reviewing” Gries’ employment in light of the charges.

“These false reports are damaging, both for true survivors of sexual assault and for the members of our community who experienced fear and alarm from the reports,” the statement reads. “Our steadfast commitment to provide compassionate support for survivors of sexual assault and to prevent these acts from occurring in the first place remains unabated.”

An investigative summary accompanying the criminal complaint filed Tuesday indicates that Gries felt romantically spurned by a co-worker and generally described him — a Black man in his late 20s — as her purported assailant.

She was also the source of an earlier human resources complaint involving a claim she became pregnant with, then miscarried, the man’s twins after he raped her, all of which was deemed unfounded. Her resentment also appeared in text messages to another co-worker that were reviewed by police in which she discussed trying to make the man’s life “a living hell” and that “I’m coming up with a plan. That way he’s (expletive) his pants for multiple days.”

Authorities say the man was never romantically involved with Gries, and that forensic exam kits collected after the two rape claims yielded no corroborating evidence. Months later, in late January, DA Investigator Sheena Woodland contended that Gries, in a recorded police interview, “admitted to lying about the rapes and wrote an apology letter to the target of the false allegations.”

Gries also said “she was upset with the victim because she felt he gave her ‘false intention’ and turned her friends against her.”

The first rape report was made Aug. 9; Gries claimed she was in a parking lot near the Munger Residence Hall when an unknown man grabbed her, took her into a bathroom and raped her. She made the report at Valley Medical Center, where she went to get a sexual assault forensic exam and told medical staff that she did not want to speak to police.

A second report by Gries was made Oct. 7, after which she went to Stanford Hospital for another forensic exam. She told medical staff there that a man walked into her campus office, grabbed her and dragged her into a basement and raped her. She similarly stated that she did not want to talk to law enforcement.

The false-report charges allege that she lied to medical staff, who made it clear that they were required to alert police. The perjury counts are based on her signing forms to receive benefits from the California Victim Compensation Board.

When the rape reports were publicized, security officials did not provide details about either assault and said the reporting parties declined police interviews. Advocates for rape survivors said that reflected students’ low confidence in Stanford’s sexual-assault response, pointing to a 2019 university-commissioned survey that found nearly 40% of undergraduate women experienced nonconsensual sexual contact and did not turn to the school for help.

Students led a campus march after the second rape report, calling for more counseling support for survivors, better training for incoming students and the swift removal of students and staff who commit sexual assault. The march organizer, Sexual Violence Free Stanford, reaffirmed those demands Wednesday and said their protest “was not for one survivor, but for all survivors that remain unheard, undervalued, and continually victimized on Stanford’s campus.”

“Sexual Violence Free Stanford will continue to, and always, believe survivors,” the group said in a statement.

Stanford law professor Michele Dauber, a prominent critic of the school’s response to sexual violence who has been at the forefront of reform efforts, called false reports “extremely rare” and voiced concern that Gries’ case could deter other women from coming forward with sexual assault reports.

“This case is very unfortunate,” Dauber said. “But it doesn’t change the fact that 40% of female undergraduate students experience sexual violence during their four years at Stanford, and that Stanford’s response to that epidemic of violence is completely inadequate.”

Harman said her office discussed the potential chilling effect on assault reporting from charging Gries but concluded they could not ignore how her false reports spread fear and cost upward of $300,000 in investigative and increased security expenses.

“When we looked at this situation, it ultimately landed on the reality that Jennifer Gries wronged a lot of people,” Harman said. “She wronged sexual assault victims, she wronged all the students who were afraid, all their parents, cost the university hundreds of thousands of dollars, and inflicted great harm on the victim of her lies.”

The lockdown was ordered around 11:30 a.m. after the school got a report of a White male carrying a long rifle, and associated with a red Cadillac vehicle parked in Lot 1. The sighting was reported by the college on its website and social media.

West Valley-Mission Community College District Chancellor Brad Davis told this news organization that the lockdown was ordered “out of an abundance of caution” and emphasized “there is no active shooter,” that no shots were fired, and no injuries were reported.

College district police, assisted by the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, searched for the person in question. In the meantime, campus buildings were locked down, and the college advised people on campus to leave if they could do so safely, and to abandon their cars and belongings.

Nearby Redwood Middle School was briefly placed under shelter-in-place orders beginning at 10:48 a.m., but the orders were lifted at 11:12 a.m., according to the school’s website.

At 1:36 p.m., the college announced that the lockdown had been lifted and that classes were cancelled for the rest of the day. That was followed up two minutes later with a Twitter post from the college stating that two people were detained in connection with the gun sighting and that it was a “Replica firearm ONLY.”

Additional details were not immediately released Monday afternoon.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

WVM ALERT! Mission and West Valley College

West Valley College. ALL CLEAR. The lockdown is over.
Campus is safe.
Two suspects detained. Replica firearm ONLY.

— West Valley College (@WestValleyCC) March 13, 2023

As a clearer motive emerged on Thursday, the state’s labor watchdog agencies announced investigations into working conditions at the farms, which have become a focus of attention in the wake of the shootings. 

Chunli Zhao, 66, apparently had enough with his purported mistreatment Monday and responded by fatally shooting four people and wounding another at California Terra Garden farm, where he worked. He then drove three miles south to Concord Farms — which once employed him — and killed three more farmworkers.

The law enforcement source, who is close to the shooting investigation, also cited eyewitness accounts affirming that Zhao methodically selected his victims and ignored other people who unwittingly got in his way during the rampage.

Zhao reportedly relayed a similar narrative in a jailhouse interview with NBC Bay Area at the Redwood City jail where he is being held on seven counts of murder and one of attempted murder, with numerous sentencing enhancements attached to each charge that stand to put him in prison for life if he is convicted.

In the television report, which recounted an off-camera, Mandarin language interview with Zhao, he reportedly admitted to the shootings and described being fed up with long hours at the farm and bullying by his co-workers. The law enforcement source who spoke to this news organization said the final straw might have been an insult about his “diminutive” size, which occurred not long before the shootings.

Elected officials decried the apparent squalor in which Zhao and his colleagues lived and worked. County Supervisor Ray Mueller toured California Terra Garden on Thursday and called the living conditions “deplorable” and “heartbreaking.”

“No running water. Outdoor stoves to cook,” Mueller wrote in remarks accompanying photos he posted on Twitter. “I spoke with one farm worker today who said she slept with flood waters from the storms on the floor in her unit.”

The supervisor’s photos showed one-room, uninsulated dwellings with plywood floors and patchwork walls with large holes. One had a concrete stove apparently heated by firewood. A child’s tricycle could be seen outside another of the quarters.

“We must raise the quality of life of farm workers, NOW,” Mueller wrote.

Viewed the crime scenes today in Half Moon Bay. Deplorable, heartbreaking living conditions. As I said on the campaign trail, we must raise the quality of life of farm workers, NOW. pic.twitter.com/mBIqisKurQ

— Ray Mueller (@Ray_Mueller_) January 26, 2023

Where the shooter lived. pic.twitter.com/LQZtdaswml

— Ray Mueller (@Ray_Mueller_) January 26, 2023

Cal/OSHA and the state Labor Commissioner’s Office announced Thursday that they have launched investigations “into potential labor and workplace safety and health violations for the worksites in Half Moon Bay where the mass shootings took place … to ensure that employees are being afforded all the protections of California labor laws.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office added to that chorus, decrying the farmworkers’ reported $9 hourly wages and shipping container shelters.

“That is no way to live. California is investigating the farms involved in the Half Moon Bay shooting to ensure workers are treated fairly and with the compassion they deserve,” the office said in a statement.

Zhao apparently voiced remorse for the killings and suggested that his undiagnosed mental illness may have been a factor, according to the TV report. He also stated that the legally obtained semi-automatic Ruger pistol that authorities say he used was bought in 2021. The report added that Zhao said he moved to the United States 11 years ago on a green card and that he and his wife, who both lived on the farm, have a 40-year-old daughter who lives in China.

That timeline aligns with court records showing that in 2013, a one-time roommate of Zhao’s at a home in San Jose filed a civil-harassment restraining order against him after alleging that Zhao tried to smother him to death with a pillow and threatened to use a knife to “split” open his head. The conflict apparently arose, according to a court petition, from Zhao wanting his job back after quitting at a South Bay restaurant where the roommate also worked.

Zhao was arrested about two hours after the shootings in the parking lot of the sheriff’s substation in Half Moon Bay where he surrendered and was taken to the ground by police officers in a scene captured on witness video. According to the TV report Thursday, Zhao said he drove immediately to the substation and sat in his car for nearly two hours after failing to find someone to surrender to. He later gave himself up after watching police surround his vehicle and cautiously approach. Authorities found the gun and a note Zhao had written to his wife in the vehicle.

Zhao was arraigned Wednesday and could face life in prison without parole and possibly the death penalty, based on the charges filed against him by the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

In the meantime, community and advocacy groups are working to support the victims. Among the newest fundraising efforts is a GoFundMe campaign sponsored by the advocacy groups Chinese for Affirmative Action, Asian American Foundation, the Asian Pacific Fund, the Asian Law Caucus, and Stop AAPI Hate.

On Thursday afternoon, Concord Farms was largely quiet and devoid of activity; only a couple of workers could be spotted working at the business off Highway 1.

Three miles to the north, bouquets of flowers dotted the entrance road to California Terra Garden farm. Among the people paying their respects Thursday was 27-year-old Ryan Whitwhiki Faddegon, who placed a bright red poinsettia plant and a candle at the gate to the farm.

Whitwhiki Faddegon said he’s “had enough of gun violence — it needs to end.”

Standing in front of the gate, he gazed at the farm where four people were shot to death. Moments after he placed the flowers, a person inside the farm walked up to the closed gate, folded his hands at this chest and said, “Thank you.”

Staff writer Scooty Nickerson contributed to this report.

Officials said Chunli Zhao, the alleged 66-year-old shooter, lived with his wife in what locals describe as a ramshackle collection of trailers and tent-like structures housing a community of Asian and Latino immigrant workers. Court records suggest he may have been prone to violence, attempting to suffocate and threatening to “split (the) head” of a former roommate.

He also worked at Mountain Mushroom Farms, the first of the two shooting-spree locations. On Tuesday, law enforcement officials described Zhao was a “disgruntled” employee who showed up Monday with a semi-automatic pistol he purchased legally.

Evidence so far “points to this being an instance of workplace violence,” the San Mateo sheriff’s office said. The deadliest mass shooting in San Mateo County history came as the state reels from a crescendo of gun violence over the past 72 hours.

“They were killed with purpose, with intent, execution style,” said Congresswoman Anna Eshoo. Eshoo met with survivors, some who sought cover in portable toilets as the carnage ensued. “They’re fearful about their livelihoods, fearful for their families, and (there is) a great deal of trauma.”

San Mateo authorities said Tuesday there were “no proceeding factors” suggesting Zhao was readying for an attack. But recently unearthed court records from a decade ago detail a history of violent, workplace-related outbursts.

In 2013, Zhao’s former roommate and co-worker at a San Jose restaurant filed a successful restraining order in Santa Clara County court against Zhao after claiming he said, “Today I am going to kill you.”

The violent spat in March 2013 was tied to a dispute over Zhao’s losing his job at a San Jose restaurant and being told he’d have to pick up his final paycheck at the restaurant. Zhao’s roommate said he “took a pillow and started to cover my face and suffocate me” and also threatened to “use a kitchen knife to split my head” if he could not return to the job.

San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Tuesday that his investigators are learning all they can about the shooter. “We’re trying to find out, how did he buy a gun? Was he here on a work visa? Did he overstay a work visa?”

Wagstaffe anticipates that his office will file seven counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, along with other gun and special circumstances charges against Zhao on Wednesday, when he is expected to be arraigned in a Redwood City courtroom.

The shooting in Half Moon Bay is part of a rash of gun violence that has rocked the state. A shooter killed 11 people during a Lunar New Year’s celebration in Monterey Park on Saturday. And on Monday night, a gas station shooting in Oakland killed one person and injured four others.

“Only in America, number one in gun ownership, number one in gun deaths — it is not that complicated,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday from Half Moon Bay.

But Newsom said that the Half Moon Bay shooting is also a “stacking of issues” related to squalid living conditions of agricultural workers and poor pay, a sentiment echoed by local officials and aid workers.

“What the hell is wrong with us,” he asked, “that we allow these weapons of war and large-capacity clips out on our streets and sidewalks?”

Among the victims are five adult males and two adult females of Latino and Asian descent who have yet to be publicly named. Family members and friends, however, identified to the Bay Area News Group two of the dead, Martin Martinez and Jose Romero Perez, and an eighth person, Pedro Romero Perez, who survived the shooting and is being treated at a Stanford trauma center.

Jose and Pedro Romero Perez are brothers who left behind multiple children in Mexico, according to Maria Melgar who owns the Hilltop Grocery store. “I’m a store owner, so I see them all the time,” said Melgar. She said the brothers came to Half Moon Bay to build a livelihood but were considering moving out of state to seek better work.

“I remember (they) would come in and buy the normal stuff, tortillas, tomatoes, bread and things,” said Melgar, who had tears streaming down her face. “I was taking a rest day yesterday, but when I got the call I was so sad I started crying. It’s so sad.”

Renato Juarez Perez, who is cousins with the two brothers, said he spoke with one of them just two days ago.

“He asked me to give him the number for the Mexican consulate to see about getting a passport to go back home and visit family,” said Juarez Perez. “I told him I couldn’t help him because I was going into work. Our shifts just didn’t line up. I didn’t get to see him.”

Sheriff’s Capt. Eamonn Allen said there is also a “very real concern of retribution” against Zhao’s wife, who lived on the mushroom farm with the suspected shooter. Allen added that his office has been “providing her resources” and considering her welfare in the aftermath of the shooting.

Democrats at all levels of leadership continue to call for heightened gun control measures in the face of a seemingly endless string of mass shootings.

State Assemblymember Phil Ting, of San Francisco, said he will be “going back to work” to see if lawmakers can tighten California’s gun laws, already among the strictest in the country.

Zhao, who is suspected of using a legally purchased semi-automatic handgun to carry out the attack, was spotted sitting in his vehicle in front of a sheriff’s substation on Monday and arrested about two hours after the shootings started.

Monday’s rampage echoes the Bay Area’s deadliest mass shooting when a disgruntled Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority employee shot and killed nine of his coworkers in 2021. That attack has left deep scars among the victims’ families and the transit agency workers.

State Sen. Josh Becker, who represents Half Moon Bay, said he was speaking with an attorney involved in the VTA shooting aftermath.

“Farmworkers may not be aware of all their rights, and under worker’s comp we take care of workers here. We’re here to make sure they’re aware of all their rights,” Becker said during a visit to a farmworker aid center.

Less than 24 hours ago, state Assemblymember Marc Berman said he was standing on the steps of the Capitol building in Sacramento for a vigil for the Monterey Park victims.

“It’s jarring, it’s tragic and it’s senseless,” Berman said. “I used to think that protecting our farmworkers was about protection from the sun or from wage theft. But now it’s from gun violence, too.”

As the shock lingered, President Biden early Tuesday promised “the full support of the federal government” as the community begins to recover.

Biden also called for stronger gun action across the United States. On Monday, Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein, of California, and Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, both of Connecticut, introduced legislation to ban “military-style assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines or ammunition feeding devices. Another bill introduced by the three would raise the minimum purchasing age of an assault weapon to 21.

“Jill and I are praying for those killed and injured in the latest tragic shooting in Half Moon Bay,” Biden said in a statement. “For the second time in recent days, California communities are mourning the loss of loved ones in a senseless act of gun violence.”

Staff writer Austin Turner contributed to this report. 

Omenihu, 25, was booked at the Santa Clara County jail and then released after posting bail, according to San Jose police.

Officers were called to Omenihu’s home in the 300 block of Santana Row at 4:39 p.m. for a report of domestic violence. A woman told arriving officers that Omenihu is her boyfriend and that he “pushed her to the ground during an argument.”

A police news release stated that the woman complained of arm pain but that “officers did not observe any visible physical injuries,” and that she declined medical attention.

Omenihu, who was still at the location when officers arrived, gave a statement to police and was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence. Police also obtained an emergency protective order and served it to Omenihu, who was required to stay away from the woman while the order is in effect.

Authorities said the results of an ongoing investigation will be presented to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office for evaluation of possible charges. No additional details were released. Because the alleged offense is a misdemeanor, and Omenihu is out of custody, there is no strict deadline for when charges would have to be filed.

Omenihu has been a key reserve for the 49ers, who are headed to Philadelphia to play the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, with a spot in the Super Bowl on the line. In a statement Tuesday morning, the team said, “We are aware of the matter involving Charles Omenihu and are in the process of gathering further information.”

A 2019 fifth-round draft pick by the Texans, Omenihu is making $2.5 million this season and is slated to become a free agent in March for the first time in his career.

His arrest adds to a lengthy list of domestic and gender violence cases involving 49ers players over the past decade. Most recently and perhaps most famously, former star linebacker Reuben Foster was released from the team during the 2018 season after a domestic violence arrest in Tampa involving his girlfriend. She was at the heart of separate domestic violence charges against Foster in Santa Clara County earlier in the year; those charges were dismissed after she recanted her allegations, then afterward said that they were legitimate.

Former defensive lineman Ray McDonald was at the center of domestic violence and sexual assault allegations in San Jose that had the added controversy of a San Jose police sergeant, moonlighting as private security for the 49ers, being the first to respond to a 2014 emergency call to McDonald’s home. The conflict muddled the ensuing rape investigation, and McDonald ultimately saw a grand jury indictment dismissed after his accuser declined to testify at trial, citing exhaustion with the court process. McDonald was released by the 49ers in late 2014 after a domestic violence arrest involving his ex-girlfriend and infant child.

In 2015, fullback Bruce Miller pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge involving an argument with his girlfriend in a Santa Clara parking garage. But Miller was cut from the team a year later hours after his arrest in San Francisco on suspicion of beating a 70-year-old man with a cane in a drunken assault at a Fisherman’s Wharf hotel. Cornerback Tremaine Brock was released by the team in 2017 a day after his domestic violence arrest in Santa Clara.

Chunli Zhao, of Half Moon Bay, was arrested nearly two and a half hours after Monday’s shootings, which rocked the tranquil surfside community widely known for its Mavericks wave break and an annual pumpkin festival that draws thousands to the intersection of Highway 92 and Highway 1.

“I am offering my heartfelt condolences to the families of victims, the coastal community and the city of Half Moon Bay. This kind of shooting is horrific, and today it has hit home,” San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said at a news conference Monday night.

It was just off Highway 92, less than a mile east of the highway intersection, that sheriff’s deputies were called to Mountain Mushroom Farm around 2:20 p.m. Monday for a report of a shooting with multiple victims.

Deputies found four people, both male and female, dead from multiple gunshot wounds. A fifth shooting victim was still alive when found, and was rushed to Stanford Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.

A short time later, deputies discovered a second shooting scene, this time about three miles south on Highway 1 near a series of farming businesses where three more people were found shot to death.

The second shooting occurred at Concord Farms at 2125 Cabrillo Highway South, according to Kathy Rice, one of the owners of neighboring Rice Trucking-Soil Farm.

“It’s shocking, absolutely shocking. Totally unexpected,” Rice said.

The three people who died at Concord Farms were all employees of the business, said an owner of the business, who asked not to be named. Among the dead was a manager who had worked at the small mushroom farm for 27 years.

The owner also said she did not recognize the name of the alleged gunman.

The slain employees were “good working people — they are so good,” the owner said, adding that “they were like our family.”

“This kind of thing should never happen, no matter where,” the owner said. “They are innocent. Nobody knows why this happened — why this guy came to our farm.”

There was no immediate sighting of a gunman, but the manhunt was over around 4:40 p.m. when a sheriff’s deputy spotted Zhao in his car in the parking lot of the Half Moon Bay sheriff’s substation and ordered him out of the vehicle. In an arrest captured on video, several deputies could be seen with guns drawn and as Zhao walked toward them with his hands up. The deputies quickly took him to the ground and subdued him. Zhao acted alone, the sheriff’s office said.

Kati McHugh, who described herself as a member of the local agricultural community, was at the substation for a news conference on the shooting when the suspect arrived and was quickly taken into custody by deputies.

“I was surprised to see (the suspect) here and of course hopeful that he came to turn himself in,” McHugh said. “It was shocking and I was very impressed with the way the officers took care of the takedown. It wasn’t in any way adding energy to the situation.”

“He was quiet,” McHugh said about the suspect. “He didn’t react much when he was taken down and it all happened pretty calmly.”

Photos from Kati McHugh, who parked right next to the shooting suspect and saw police take him down. She said she was amazed at how quickly everything happened. “Too close for comfort,” she said. Here’s video of what she saw: pic.twitter.com/SmtUBv5rR4

— Aldo Toledo (@aldot29) January 24, 2023

The devastation that has so far been blamed on Zhao soon became clear. Local elected officials and media reports stated that Zhao had been an employee at Mountain Mushroom Farm and that several of the dead were his co-workers. San Mateo County Supervisor Dave Pine told The Associated Press that Zhao was a “disgruntled co-worker.”

The sheriff’s office said in a statement that a weapon was found in Zhao’s car and that “there is no further threat to the community.” Corpus, the newly installed sheriff, called the shooting “a (devastating) tragedy for this community and the many families touched by this unspeakable act of violence.”

People who were displaced or separated from their loved ones as a result of the shootings were being tended to at a family reunification center set up at the IDES Hall at 735 Main St. in Half Moon Bay.

Grief and mourning filled the hall as members of the tight-knit community searched for answers and updates on the status of loved ones, according to witness accounts.

“There’s a lot of sadness. There’s grief (inside),” said Half Moon Bay resident Lizette Diaz, a volunteer with the nonprofit ALAS, which seeks to help those impacted by disaster. “We can hear people crying.”

As vehicles entered and exited the site, teenagers were often alongside their grieving parents, bringing perspective to the losses caused by the shootings.

“It’s palpable. It’s devastating (inside),” said ALAS volunteer Kate Shea. “I have four boys and I cannot imagine what those kids witnessed today.”

The pair of volunteers said the two shootings combined with the devastating effects of the recent storms have brought shock to the coastal community of about 11,000.

“I would never have thought something like this would happen in a small, close community. We’re all very close,” Diaz said. “We all know each other, we know our neighbors, we know people that work within our community. It was heartbreaking.”

Alejandro Lopez said one of the victims was a longtime friend and coworker.

“He was like my brother,” he said in Spanish to a Bay Area News Group reporter.

Lopez said he learned of the shooting from his wife when he got home and tried to call his friend, but he did not pick up. Another coworker told him that his friend had died.

“(I am feeling) bad, very bad,” Lopez said.

At a news conference Monday night, elected officials including Pine and Vice Mayor Joaquin Jimenez offered their condolences to those affected by the shooting and called for an end to gun violence.

“We grieve tonight for the deceased neighbors of our community,” Pine said. “It’s a horrific incident. Gun violence in this country is at really unacceptable levels, and it hit home tonight. Our hearts our broken. But in the end, there’s simply too many guns in this country and there has to be a change. This is not the way for a modern society to conduct its affairs.”

“This is something we get to watch on the news and I never thought it would hit home,” Jimenez said. “This should be an eye-opener for what’s going on in this community regarding gun violence.”

The mass shooting follows one Saturday in Monterey Park — in the Los Angeles area — that left 11 people dead, all of them Asian American.

“First Monterey Park and now Half Moon Bay. Enough is enough. How many more must die?” San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa said in a statement. “Although the details are sparse, one thing is true. The victims died from guns. My heart breaks for the families.”

Canepa said the county has pledged $2 million over the next two years to launch a gun violence prevention program. The program, he added, aims to improve public safety by “boosting efforts to remove guns from the hands of felons, stalkers and other people prohibited from firearm possession.”

Congresswoman Anna Eshoo said she was also monitoring the situation in Half Moon Bay.

“My gratitude to the San Mateo Sheriff’s Office who took the suspect into custody and are working the two scenes of the murders,” Eshoo said in a statement. “Half Moon Bay is a beloved and tight-knit community, and we all stand with them and the families of the victims during this dark hour.”

The Bay Area has seen a string of mass shootings in recent years, including its deadliest in May 2021 when a disgruntled mechanic killed nine people then himself at a Valley Transportation Authority light rail yard near the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office in San Jose.

Staff writers Austin Turner, Jakob Rodgers and Elissa Miolene contributed to this report.

Chunli Zhao, of Half Moon Bay, was arrested nearly two and a half hours after Monday’s shootings, which rocked the tranquil surfside community widely known for its Mavericks wave break and an annual pumpkin festival that draws thousands to the intersection of Highway 92 and Highway 1.

“I am offering my heartfelt condolences to the families of victims, the coastal community and the city of Half Moon Bay. This kind of shooting is horrific, and today it has hit home,” San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said at a news conference Monday night.

It was just off Highway 92, less than a mile east of the highway intersection, that sheriff’s deputies were called to Mountain Mushroom Farm around 2:20 p.m. Monday for a report of a shooting with multiple victims.

Deputies found four people, both male and female, dead from multiple gunshot wounds. A fifth shooting victim was still alive when found, and was rushed to Stanford Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.

A short time later, deputies discovered a second shooting scene, this time about three miles south on Highway 1 near a series of farming businesses where three more people were found shot to death.

The second shooting occurred at Concord Farms at 2125 Cabrillo Highway South, according to Kathy Rice, one of the owners of neighboring Rice Trucking-Soil Farm.

“It’s shocking, absolutely shocking. Totally unexpected,” Rice said.

The three people who died at Concord Farms were all employees of the business, said an owner of the business, who asked not to be named. Among the dead was a manager who had worked at the small mushroom farm for 27 years.

The owner also said she did not recognize the name of the alleged gunman.

The slain employees were “good working people — they are so good,” the owner said, adding that “they were like our family.”

“This kind of thing should never happen, no matter where,” the owner said. “They are innocent. Nobody knows why this happened — why this guy came to our farm.”

There was no immediate sighting of a gunman, but the manhunt was over around 4:40 p.m. when a sheriff’s deputy spotted Zhao in his car in the parking lot of the Half Moon Bay sheriff’s substation and ordered him out of the vehicle. In an arrest captured on video, several deputies could be seen with guns drawn and as Zhao walked toward them with his hands up. The deputies quickly took him to the ground and subdued him. Zhao acted alone, the sheriff’s office said.

Kati McHugh, who described herself as a member of the local agricultural community, was at the substation for a news conference on the shooting when the suspect arrived and was quickly taken into custody by deputies.

“I was surprised to see (the suspect) here and of course hopeful that he came to turn himself in,” McHugh said. “It was shocking and I was very impressed with the way the officers took care of the takedown. It wasn’t in any way adding energy to the situation.”

“He was quiet,” McHugh said about the suspect. “He didn’t react much when he was taken down and it all happened pretty calmly.”

Photos from Kati McHugh, who parked right next to the shooting suspect and saw police take him down. She said she was amazed at how quickly everything happened. “Too close for comfort,” she said. Here’s video of what she saw: pic.twitter.com/SmtUBv5rR4

— Aldo Toledo (@aldot29) January 24, 2023

The devastation that has so far been blamed on Zhao soon became clear. Local elected officials and media reports stated that Zhao had been an employee at Mountain Mushroom Farm and that several of the dead were his co-workers. San Mateo County Supervisor Dave Pine told The Associated Press that Zhao was a “disgruntled co-worker.”

The sheriff’s office said in a statement that a weapon was found in Zhao’s car and that “there is no further threat to the community.” Corpus, the newly installed sheriff, called the shooting “a (devastating) tragedy for this community and the many families touched by this unspeakable act of violence.”

People who were displaced or separated from their loved ones as a result of the shootings were being tended to at a family reunification center set up at the IDES Hall at 735 Main St. in Half Moon Bay.

Grief and mourning filled the hall as members of the tight-knit community searched for answers and updates on the status of loved ones, according to witness accounts.

“There’s a lot of sadness. There’s grief (inside),” said Half Moon Bay resident Lizette Diaz, a volunteer with the nonprofit ALAS, which seeks to help those impacted by disaster. “We can hear people crying.”

As vehicles entered and exited the site, teenagers were often alongside their grieving parents, bringing perspective to the losses caused by the shootings.

“It’s palpable. It’s devastating (inside),” said ALAS volunteer Kate Shea. “I have four boys and I cannot imagine what those kids witnessed today.”

The pair of volunteers said the two shootings combined with the devastating effects of the recent storms have brought shock to the coastal community of about 11,000.

“I would never have thought something like this would happen in a small, close community. We’re all very close,” Diaz said. “We all know each other, we know our neighbors, we know people that work within our community. It was heartbreaking.”

Alejandro Lopez said one of the victims was a longtime friend and coworker.

“He was like my brother,” he said in Spanish to a Bay Area News Group reporter.

Lopez said he learned of the shooting from his wife when he got home and tried to call his friend, but he did not pick up. Another coworker told him that his friend had died.

“(I am feeling) bad, very bad,” Lopez said.

At a news conference Monday night, elected officials including Pine and Vice Mayor Joaquin Jimenez offered their condolences to those affected by the shooting and called for an end to gun violence.

“We grieve tonight for the deceased neighbors of our community,” Pine said. “It’s a horrific incident. Gun violence in this country is at really unacceptable levels, and it hit home tonight. Our hearts our broken. But in the end, there’s simply too many guns in this country and there has to be a change. This is not the way for a modern society to conduct its affairs.”

“This is something we get to watch on the news and I never thought it would hit home,” Jimenez said. “This should be an eye-opener for what’s going on in this community regarding gun violence.”

The mass shooting follows one Saturday in Monterey Park — in the Los Angeles area — that left 11 people dead, all of them Asian American.

“First Monterey Park and now Half Moon Bay. Enough is enough. How many more must die?” San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa said in a statement. “Although the details are sparse, one thing is true. The victims died from guns. My heart breaks for the families.”

Canepa said the county has pledged $2 million over the next two years to launch a gun violence prevention program. The program, he added, aims to improve public safety by “boosting efforts to remove guns from the hands of felons, stalkers and other people prohibited from firearm possession.”

Congresswoman Anna Eshoo said she was also monitoring the situation in Half Moon Bay.

“My gratitude to the San Mateo Sheriff’s Office who took the suspect into custody and are working the two scenes of the murders,” Eshoo said in a statement. “Half Moon Bay is a beloved and tight-knit community, and we all stand with them and the families of the victims during this dark hour.”

The Bay Area has seen a string of mass shootings in recent years, including its deadliest in May 2021 when a disgruntled mechanic killed nine people then himself at a Valley Transportation Authority light rail yard near the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office in San Jose.

Staff writers Austin Turner, Jakob Rodgers and Elissa Miolene contributed to this report.