Half Moon Bay mass shooting survivor shares story, remembers brother
Jan 23, 2025
It’s been two years since the Half Moon Bay community experienced a mass shooting that left seven farmworkers killed at two mushroom farms.
It was the deadliest shooting shooting recorded in San Mateo County, but one man who was shot survived. Now, he’s telling his story.
Pedro Félix Romero Perez shared a shipping contained with his bother Jose while they worked at California Terra Garden’s mushroom farm. It’s been two years since Romero witnessed his brother’s murder.
“Look, when we arrived at that farm, we didn’t really think about it. We were here to work, and we only went in there to sleep,” he said.
Romera was shot five times by former coworker Chunli Zhao after Zhao had a dispute with a supervisor over a $100 forklift repair bill.
“What hurts the most is that my brother is no longer with me,” Romero said.
Following the shooting, Romero underwent three surgeries and has not been able to return to work. But what has been more challenging is living without Jose, he said.
Jose financially supported his four children and wife, who live in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Romero has since filed a lawsuit alleging his former employer failed to protect the workers living on the property.
“They were living in squalid living conditions in shipping containers,” said Duffy Magilligan, the family’s attorney. “There was no insulation. There was no clean place to prepare food. There [were] no bathrooms, and they were being exploited by the California Terror Gardens.”
The complaint also claims there was a history of violent incidents at the farm, and Zhao had a history of work violence.
“It appears that the operators of the mushroom farm just did inadequate background checks of the people that were living at the property and work in there,” Magilligan said.
California Terra Garden did not immediately respond to NBC Bay Area’s request for comment.
Zhao has pleaded not guilty to several charges of first-degree murder and one of attempted murder.
Romero has not returned to the farm where the shooting took place and has no plans to return. For now, he is taking accordion lessons and said he hopes to return to work when he feels ready.