Local, state leaders respond to news of Half Moon Bay killings
Officials already stunned by the news of a mass shooting in Southern California responded Monday to another incident, hours after a series of shooting shootings in Half Moon Bay shootings killed seven people.
San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa said in a statement shortly after news of the Bay Area shootings broke: “First Monterey Park and now Half Moon Bay. Enough is enough. How many more must die?
“Although the details are sparse, one thing is true,” he added. “The victims died from guns. My heart breaks for the families.”
Canepa noted that the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors had pledged $2 million in funding over the next two years to launch the SMC Gun Violence Prevention Program. The new initiative aims to improve public safety by boosting efforts to remove guns from the hands of felons, stalkers, and other people prohibited from firearm possession.
Half Moon Bay Vice Mayor Joaquin Jimenez spoke at a news conference Monday evening about the shootings.
“I send my condolences to the families and offer support to the farmworkers who were affected,” Jimenez said. “The city of Half Moon Bay, after being affected by the floods, the farmworker community was affected, and now this.
“This is something we get to watch on the news and I never thought it would hit home. … This should be an eye-opener for what’s going on in this community regarding gun violence.”
He offered support to the families, especially the children who were affected.
“We grieve tonight for the deceased neighbors of our community,” David Pine, president of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, said at the same news conference. ” It’s a horrific incident. Gun violence in this country is at really unacceptable levels, and it’s 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.”
Supervisor Ray Mueller thanked law enforcement and talked about how much the community’s heart was broken by the shootings.
“It’s a heartbreaking tragedy in our community and comes on the even of what happened a couple days ago, and the natural disaster that we experienced a week ago.”
He encouraged people to seek out mental health crisis services because of the amount of stress that has been put on the community lately.
Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, said in a statement that “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.
“I continue to monitor the unfolding tragedy that has taken place in Half Moon Bay,” she said in the statement. “My gratitude to the San Mateo Sheriff’s Office who took the suspect into custody and are working the two scenes of the murders.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a tweet that he was already occupied with the aftermath of the weekend shooting in Southern California when he got the latest news.
“At the hospital meeting with victims of a mass shooting when I get pulled away to be briefed about another shooting,” the governor said. “This time in Half Moon Bay. Tragedy upon tragedy.”