Nearly a year after a deadly shooting shook the city of Half Moon Bay, California, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office arrested a suspect in connection with a separate shooting in the area Monday.
Orlando MontelongoChavarin, 18, was arrested on charges of attempted murder, as well as shooting into an occupied vehicle, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. A male victim had sustained gunshot wounds at an affordable housing community for farmworkers in unincorporated San Mateo County Coast, just 3 miles from Half Moon Bay, according to the release.
MontelongoChavarin is being held without bail at the Maguire Correctional Facility in Redwood City. He has not entered a plea, and a hearing has not been scheduled.
The arrest comes amid the anniversary of the mass shooting in which a gunman killed seven Chinese migrants who worked and lived at two farms in Half Moon Bay on Jan. 23, 2023. A criminal grand jury Friday indicted the suspect, a farmworker, on seven counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder.
Ray Mueller, a member of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors whose district includes Half Moon Bay, said the latest shooting was “another heartbreaking instance of gun violence impacting our community just a year after the worst mass shooting in the history of the County.”
“Our focus now is ensuring that community members have the resources they need while the Sheriffs office works to bring the perpetrators to justice,” he said in a statement to NBC News.
Deputies responded to a report of a shooting in the Moonridge housing community, according to the news release. The victim was taken to the hospital. After they identified MontelongoChavarin as the suspect, authorities obtained a warrant Sunday and took him into custody without incident. Detectives say that they believe the attack was an isolated incident after a preliminary investigation and that they are encouraging the public to reach out with any information.
The day of the arrest, the Half Moon Bay community held a vigil for the seven people who were killed last year.
“We are not going to forget the farmworkers every day. The healing process is going to take years. This is just a step forward,” Half Moon Bay Mayor Joaquin Jimenez said at the event.
