Were warning signs missed in two California mass shootings?
HALF MOON BAY -- The start of 2023 has already seen 40 mass shootings – more than in any other start of the year on record.
As investigators try to find out why the alleged shooters went on a rampage, evidence is surfacing about one of Half Moon Bay shooter's violent past.
"We don't look well enough at the mental health crisis and how we are going to solve that," Jeff Harp, a security analyst and former FBI agent, told KPIX. "Some of it, I hate to say but maybe mandatory institutionalization is the way to go."
As a security analyst, Harp now investigates potential dangers in the workplace.
"How many of these things do we have to have before we finally go those warning signs are serious," he told KPIX.
Harp says the suspects in the vast majority of mass shootings have a history of mental illness.
In 2013, a coworker of the man accused of killing seven people in Half Moon Bay asked for a restraining order against Chunli Zhao.
The coworker claimed Zhao tried to suffocate him with a pillow and threatened him with a knife.
"It's not just one sign that tells you 'oh my gosh this person is going to go off the deep end,'" Harp said. "There's a culmination of events that happen that lead to this. The problem we have is we have to be able to put all those pieces of that puzzle together in a manner that allows us to act upon it."
In the case in Monterey Park in Southern California, the man in this surveillance video wrestled the weapon away from the shooter at a second location.
Dr. David Spiegel, a psychiatrist with Stanford Health, says people can become a hero by just speaking up.
"I can't advise anyone who is in that kind of acute dangerous situation but he saved a lot of lives," Spiegel said. "So if you want a model of what to do, it's to take a threat seriously and get help doing it."
Spiegel believes the pandemic and the isolation that came with it may have worsened some peoples' mental health issues.
He adds when you factor in living in a country where guns are accessible, it's a deadly combination.
"The combination of people who lose perspective and who are delusional or who just get angry or get drunk and the ability to kill this many people that fast is just a dangerous combination," Spiegel said. "Horrible things will happen and continue to happen until we do something about it."
As for the Half Moon Bay shooter, authorities say Zhao legally purchased a semi-automatic handgun.
As lawmakers grapple with the issue of gun control, the best advice, for now, is to report anything suspicious.
HOW TO HELP:
The Farmworker Caravan, an organization that has been conducting a relief drive to provide support for farm workers impacted by recent flooding and the Half Moon Bay mass shooting, is asking for donations and volunteers to help with their efforts. More information and a sign-up page are available online here.
For more information on how to help the Half Moon Bay farming community, visit ALAS (Ayudando a Latinos a Soñar) at their website alasdreams.com.
