Half Moon Bay mass shooting suspect allegedly threatened to kill his former coworker

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (KRON) — The suspect in the mass shooting that killed seven people and left another critically injured on Monday has allegedly threatened coworkers in the past, according to court records obtained by The San Francisco Chronicle.

Chunli Zhao, the 66-year-old suspect in the shooting, is reportedly an employee at the mushroom farm, and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office called the shooting an incident of “workplace violence.” The Sheriff’s Office stated on Tuesday that “there were no preceding factors known to law enforcement that would have suggested Zhao was about to carry out this heinous act of violence.” However, court records in nearby Santa Clara County reveal he may have made threats of violence before.

Zhao was accused of threatening to “split another coworker’s head open with a knife” before trying to suffocate the man in 2013, according to The Chronicle. This incident allegedly took place at another place of employment here in the Bay Area.

A coworker named Jingjiu Wang reportedly filed a restraining order against Zhao. Wang told a judge that his roommate and coworker in a San Jose restaurant assaulted him days before. He alleged that Zhao also made death threats towards him. Wang’s restraining order was granted, but it is no longer in effect.

2013 restraining order documents

The Chronicle reports that Zhao worked at a South Bay restaurant back in 2013. On March 10 of that year he quit the job, according to the restraining application Wang filed. Court records show that Wang was growing increasingly fearful of his former coworker and roommate.

In March 2013, Zhao worked at a South Bay restaurant. On March 10, according to Wang’s restraining order application, he quit the job. Over the next week, Wang describes in court records an escalating fear about his roommate and former coworker’s behavior. It’s unclear why Zhao might have believed Wang would have his paycheck.

Wang told officials that Zhao snuck into Wang’s room on the morning of March 12 at their Greendale Way apartment in San Jose. Zhao allegedly asked for his paychecks, and Wang told him that the checks would be at the restaurant.

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Wang wrote in the application, “Mr. Zhao said to me, today I am going to kill you. He then took a pillow and started to cover my face and suffocate me. While I couldn’t breathe, I used all my might within the few seconds to push him away with my blanket.”

Wang said he was able to escape Zhao’s grasp and call for help. Another roommate came to assist, but Wang believed Zhao locked the door to keep people out. The two men began to wrestle on the bed before Wang was able to calm Zhao down and end the fighting.

On March 14, Wang came home from work and headed to his kitchen to get water. He says that’s when Zhao confronted him, telling Wang that he wanted to return to work. Wang says Zhao warned there would be a “bigger problem” for everyone if he was unable to get his job back. Wang took this as a threat towards him and the restaurant he worked at.

Wang alleged that Zhao told him not to be victim, because that would leave him with no other choice. “Mr. Zhao said he would use a kitchen knife to split my head,” Wang wrote.

Wang wrote that the threats of violence made life difficult for him at work. Wang also said Zhao told him he’d kill him if he didn’t get the job back.

Another workplace threat?

The family of a man who managed a restaurant in Cupertino that has since closed down told The Chronicle that Zhao had worked at the restaurant for six months, over ten years ago. The employee’s son was told that Zhao had been fired after a coworker accused him of trying to suffocate him after a disagreement over money. Since then, the son recalled seeing Zhao in Cupertino for years after.