In the US state of California, several people have again become victims of deadly gun violence: this time it hit a rural community in the north of the west coast state. Seven people were killed at two crime scenes in Half Moon Bay on Monday. Another person was critically injured, the police said on Monday evening (local time).
The suspected shooter, a 67-year-old man, was arrested, Sheriff Christina Corpus said at a news conference. The motive for the crime is not known. Investigators believe the man acted alone.
The crime took place in an agricultural region south of San Francisco. The man fired shots at a farm, among other things, it said. They found four bodies and a seriously injured gunshot victim at a crime scene, Corpus said. Nearby, in another company, three people were killed by gunfire.
Suspect in police custody
The suspect later drove his vehicle to a police station and was taken into custody in the parking lot. Investigators believe the man worked at one of the factories. The victims would probably be other farm workers, it said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom expressed his dismay on Monday. "Tragedy upon tragedy," the Democrat wrote on Twitter. He met people injured in the Monterey Park incident in the hospital on Monday when he was informed of the next shooting in Half Moon Bay, the politician said. Newsom has long advocated tougher gun laws.
Gun violence and deadly attacks of this magnitude are sadly normal in the United States. Just over the weekend, a gunman opened fire at a dance hall during a Chinese New Year celebration in Southern California. Ten people died at the Monterey Park crime scene, and another victim succumbed to his injuries in hospital on Monday. The alleged perpetrator, a 72-year-old man, was found dead in his van on Sunday. It was said that he took his own life when a special police unit surrounded his car.
Meanwhile, in the state of Iowa in the American Midwest, two people were killed in a shooting at a center for young people. Police say the victims were 16 and 18 years old. The alleged perpetrator is an 18-year-old.
San Mateo County Sheriff's Office NBC News San Francisco Chronicle Gavin Newsom on Twitter
