Half Moon Bay shooting: New witness accounts, word from family of 1 of 7 killed
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (KGO) -- In the heart of downtown Half Moon Bay, city officials have established a growing memorial with the message, "As a community we grieve."
There was no evening vigil, with the city announcing on Facebook: "We have been in close contact with families in Half Moon Bay that have been directly affected," adding loved ones were simply not ready for a vigil.
Following Monday's deadly shootings at two area farms, the family of 50-year-old Marciano Martinez-Jimenez shared details about the man who was killed at Concord Farms.
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Translated from Spanish, Servando Martinez described his brother as a good person, a good coworker and an admired supervisor. He said no one ever could have imagined this happening.
Martinez said the loss has left the family broken.
Chilling stories have come to light about the violence suffered and witnessed by families and children who were at the scenes.
"I heard everything, the gunshots," one witness described in Spanish. "Because I was close to the first two victims. We were doing maintenance work in a house nearby."
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"Two people actually shared with us that they had to hide in the porta potty to get away from the shooter," Vice Mayor Joaquin Jimenez told ABC7 News. He also serves as the ALAS Half Moon Bay farmworker program director.
Before the shooting, Jimenez said members of his team spent Monday morning bringing goods to the Mountain Mushroom Farm site. He said they delivered items for farmworkers, needed after the devastating storms passed through a week earlier. However, hours later, Jimenez received word of a shooting.
He described calling a farmworker friend who didn't answer, and then tried another.
"I asked him, 'How are you? Are you okay? I heard there was, something happened?' He said, 'Yes, there was a shooting and two people are dead,'" Jimenez described, having to pause to keep composure.
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The accused gunman killed seven people between Mountain Mushroom Farm and Concord Farms. The victims consisted of five men and two women. A survivor remains in the hospital.
The Half Moon Bay community is only beginning the healing process.
At the memorial site in the city's downtown area, resident Roberta Gelt told ABC7 News, "I just, I needed to connect with my community around this. This is not supposed to happen here. I'll say it like everyone else... it's not."
Taking a breath and through tears, Gelt shared, "These are good people."
TAKE ACTION: Local resources for survivors and victims of gun violence
Get the latest on the deadly Half Moon Bay shootings here.
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