Chunli Zhao, who is accused of killing seven people in a series of shootings at two mushroom farms in Northern California, not guilty thursday,
Mr. Zhao, 66, wore a red prison jumpsuit and did not speak during the hearing, answering questions through a Chinese translator. San Jose Mercury News reports,
The Chinese national is accused of killing seven people in January at a farm where he worked, as well as another from whom he was fired in 2015.
In an interview with NBC Bay Area, Mr. confessed to firing, saying that he was remorseful. He said he resented his employers for what he described as years of unheard-of bullying and long hours.
They said that he had bought his gun legally, and that they thought he might be suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness.
alleged gunman was arrested after the shootout on 23 January, He was found sitting in his vehicle in the parking lot of a sheriff’s substation. A semiautomatic weapon was found in the car during a police search.
Authorities say they are still looking for a concrete motive.
(Bay Area News Group)
San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said, “Prior to this incident, there was nothing at this point in time that would elevate or elevate us to have any concern with him.” told CNNDescribing how he hadn’t been on law enforcement’s radar before.
The shooting at a mushroom farm has raised questions about working conditions at two farms in the coastal village of Half Moon Bay.
San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller inspected the site of one of the shootings and found it “reprehensible”.
“No one is going back to live there,” he Said At the time, “Horrible. Terrible. Abysmal conditions. We saw what basically looked like sheds. Storage containers that people were living in. No insulation. No running water. Not anywhere you’d want to prepare food.” “
(the company that owns the farm told ABC7 News On-site employees had access to kitchens, bathrooms, showers, and other standard living amenities.)
mr zhao Was the subject of a temporary restraining order in 2013From a roommate who said the man violently threatened her and attempted to suffocate her when the two were living together in San Jose and working at a restaurant.
“Within a few seconds I exerted all my strength to push him away from my blanket when he couldn’t breathe,” the roommate wrote in court documents.