‘Tragedy upon tragedy’: How there have been 39 mass shootings in just 24 days so far this year leaving 70 people dead – including four in California in the last eight days killing 26
- Within first 24 days of this year, 70 people killed in 39 mass shootings in US
- At this time this last year, America had seen 27 mass shootings, data shows
- In California, gunman Huu Can Tran killed 11 people at a ballroom dance hall
There have been more mass shootings in the US than days this year, including four in just eight days in California that have left 26 people dead.
Within the first 24 days of this year, 70 people have been killed and 167 injured in 39 mass shootings, according to the Gun Violence Archive, an institute tracking shootings in the country.
At this time last year, America had seen 27 mass shootings, according to the Archive, which defines mass shootings as an incident where at least four people are shot and injured or killed.
In California, just two days after gunman Huu Can Tran killed 11 people at a ballroom dance hall, seven more victims were shot dead in an agricultural area near San Francisco on Monday.
There have been more mass shootings in the US than days this year, including three in just eight days in California that have left 19 dead. Pictured: A man visits a memorial at Star Dance Studio in Monterey Park on Monday for the 11 victims who died as a result of a mass shooting there
California Governor Gavin Newsom said he was visiting wounded survivors from Saturday night’s massacre in the Los Angeles suburb of Monterey Park when he was informed of Monday’s killings in northern California. ‘Tragedy upon tragedy,’ Newsom wrote on Twitter.
In another incident, one person died and seven were injured in Oakland, near San Francisco, California, on Monday in a shooting between several individuals, Oakland Police Department reported.
Eight days earlier, six people, including a 17-year-old mother and her ten-month-old son – were killed in a shooting at a home in Goshen, California.
Here, MailOnline looks at the deadliest mass shootings in the US so far this year.
Half Moon Bay, California – 7 dead and 1 injured
Chunli Zhao, 67, was taken into custody on Monday accused of murdering seven farm workers in the Half Moon Bay area
Chunli Zhao, 67, a veteran farm worker, is suspected of opening fire and killing seven fellow Chinese agricultural laborers in what is being described as a workplace dispute.
The shootings took place at two separate locations in Half Moon Bay, California, with four shot at a farm run by Concord Farms, and three at Mountain Mushroom Farms two miles away. Officials are unsure which was attacked first.
Officers arrested Zhao after they found him in his vehicle in the car park of a sheriff’s substation, San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said.
Officials believe Zhao was a worker at one of the facilities and that the victims were also employees, Ms Corpus said.
Chunli Zhao, 67, is pictured on Monday afternoon as he is arrested by San Mateo County officials
Some workers at one facility lived on the premises and children may have witnessed the shooting, she added.
She said officials have not yet determined a motive for the shooting.
‘We’re still trying to understand exactly what happened and why, but it’s just incredibly, incredibly tragic,’ said state Senator Josh Becker, who represents the area and called it ‘a very close-knit’ agricultural community.
A San Mateo County sheriff deputy walks towards police tape as law enforcement officials conduct an investigation following a mass shooting on January 23 in Half Moon Bay, California
Monterey Park, California – 12 dead and 10 injured
Gunman Huu Can Tran, 72, opened fire at patrons inside the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California, on Saturday night, killing 11 people and injuring 10 others.
Tran then drove to a nearby dance hall where an employee wrestled a modified 9mm submachine gun-style semi-automatic weapon away from him.
Ming Wei Ma, Mymy Nhan, 65, Valentino Alvero, 68, Diana Tom, 70, Lilian Li, 63, and Xiuhuan Yu, 57, have been named as six of the 11 people shot dead during the Lunar New Year festivities.
Huu Can Tran, 72, shot himself on Sunday in a van after being surrounded by SWAT teams. His motive for the rampage at Star Dance Studio remains unconfirmed, but police sources say it was a ‘domestic dispute’. He is shown in surveillance footage from Saturday
FBI investigators stand near the Star Dance Studio (not pictured) where Tan opened fire and killed 11 people
Diana Tom, 70, (right) was critically wounded in the shooting and later died in hospital on Sunday. Valentino Alvero (left), a father, has also been identified as one of the victims of the shooting
All of the dead, six women and five men, were in their 50s, 60s and 70s, the coroner’s office said.
Los Angeles Sheriff Robert Luna said investigators had not yet established why Tran had gunned down the patrons before killing himself as police closed in on him.
Police said they had found a rifle and hundreds of rounds of ammunition during a search of his home. They said it appeared he was manufacturing gun silencers.
Goshen, California – 6 dead
Six people – including a 17-year-old mother and her ten-month-old son – were killed in a shooting at a home in Goshen, central California, on January 16.
Deputies responded at around 3.30am to reports of multiple shots fired at the residence.
Officers found Alissa Parraz, 17, dead in a ditch, still cradling her son Nycholas, near the home where four of her family members were killed. Both had been shot in the head as Parraz attempted to flee with her baby.
Alissa Parraz, 17, was found dead in a ditch, still cradling her baby Nycholas, near the home where four of her family members were also killed in Goshen on January 16
Detectives say Alissa was trying to flee the shooters when she was chased down the street and shot repeatedly in the head, along with her infant son
Authorities are searching for at least two suspects in what appeared to be a gang-related murders, sheriff’s officials said. They are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to their arrest.
Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said the massacre was a deliberate attack on the family. ‘None of this was an accident. It was deliberate, intentional and horrific,’ he said.
‘These people were clearly shot in the head and they were also shot in places where the shooter would know that a quick death would occur,’ said the sheriff. ‘This is also similar to high-ranking gang affiliation and the style of executions that they commit.’
Tulare County Sheriff crime unit removes the body of one of the victims at the scene where the six family members were killed in Goshen on January 16
High Point, North Carolina – 5 dead
Robert K. Crayton, 45, shot his wife Athalia A. Crayton, 46, and his three children before killing himself at their home in High Point, North Carolina on January 7.
Police found the bodies of Crayton, his wife and children – Kasin, 18, Nyla, 16 and Nasir, 10 – at their home after receiving a report of two people running down the street and screaming for help.
‘The man said that it was his father,’ a neighbor said. ‘He woke up, and there was a gun to his head. Somehow he pulled the magazine out of the gun, and they escaped.’ The other survivor was a visitor.
Robert K. Crayton, 45, shot his wife Athalia A. Crayton, 46, and his three children before killing himself at their home in High Point, North Carolina on January 7. Pictured: The scene
Athalia A. Crayton, 46, was killed by her husband before he turned the gun on himself on January 7
Nyla, 16, and Kasin Crayton, 18, were also shot by their father before he took his own life. Pictured: Nyla, left, and Kasin, right
It remains unclear why the gunman chose to attack his family and authorities said they will likely never find out.
‘We may never know why,’ Lieutenant Patrick Welch said. ‘What goes through the hearts and minds of a person that would do this sometimes dies with them.’
Officers have responded to the family’s High Point about five times since 2014 – with the last stop by occurring on January 3 when police performed an ‘involuntary mental commitment order’.
Enoch City, Utah – 8 dead
Mike Haight, 42, murdered his wife, Tausha Haight, 40, and their five children, who ranged in age from four to 17, and his mother-in-law Gail Earl on January 4 at their home in Enoch, Utah.
Enoch Mayor Geoffrey Chesnut said last week police were still investigating the killings – while revealing Tausha Haight had filed for divorce from her husband of 20 years on December 21, exactly two weeks before the murders.
Haight’s five children – daughters Macie, Briley, Sienna, and sons Ammon and Gavin – were all discovered by police the morning after the murders with fatal gunshot wounds.
Mike Haight, 42, murdered his wife, Tausha Haight, 40, and their five children, who ranged in age from four to 17, (pictured together) and his mother-in-law Gail Earl on January 4 at their home in Enoch, Utah
He also killed his mother-in-law Gail Earl (left) in the shooting on January 4 in Enoch, Utah
Officials from the city of Enoch hold a news conference at city hall on the murders on January 5
Not far from their bodies was Mormon insurance agent Haight, who police believe carried out the killing spree before turning the gun on himself.
It has since emerged Haight removed guns owned by himself and his wife days before the shooting, leaving the family ‘vulnerable’, a relative said.
They noted that both Tausha and her mother Gail were trained in gun safety and personal protection.
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