A 66-year-old immigrant farm worker was formally charged with premeditated murder on Wednesday in the fatal shooting of seven co-workers near San Francisco, the second of two gun rampages in California in recent days in which 18 people were killed.
Reuters reports that Chunli Zhao, a Chinese citizen and the lone suspect in Monday’s massacre at two mushroom farms in the seaside town of Half Moon Bay, was formally presented with seven counts of murder and a single count of attempted murder during his first court appearance in nearby Redwood City.
Zhao was ordered held without bond during a brief hearing before a San Mateo County Superior Court judge. He was reportedly expressionless through the hearing. He was assigned two private defense lawyers; no plea was entered.
The next court proceeding in the case was set for Feb. 16.
