Steve Kerr offers condolences to families of Half Moon Bay shooting victims, speaks against gun violence

SAN FRANCISCO — Coach Steve Kerr opened Tuesday’s post-practice news conference by renewing his call for common sense gun safety laws after a recent mass shooting in San Mateo County left seven people dead and another wounded.

Kerr, a longtime advocate for gun legislature reform, said the shooting that took place Monday afternoon in Half Moon Bay was “just devastating news yet again.” He offered condolences to the families of the victims, who had yet to be publicly identified as of Tuesday afternoon.

“Everybody with the Warriors organization is thinking about victims and family members today,” Kerr said. “And we’re just devastated and just want you to know we’re thinking of you.”

Chunli Zhao, 66, has been arrested in connection with the two shootings near the heart of the small coastal town, about an hour south of San Francisco. It’s been reported that the suspected gunman used a legally purchased semi-automatic handgun to carry out the attacks, which appear to be cases of workplace violence.

The shooting took place two days after a gunman opened fire at a Lunar New Year’s celebration in Monterey Park on Saturday, killing 11 people.

The Warriors held a moment of silence before Sunday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets for the Monterey Park victims. Kerr expects the team to have a similar pregame event to mourn the losses of the Half Moon Bay shooting before Wednesday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

“It just feels like we’re just doing the same thing over and over again,” Kerr said. “But that’s why it’s so important for everybody to join the fight and whatever that means. Maybe it’s contributing to one of the many gun violence prevention groups out there… maybe it’s having conversations with family members, with your neighbors.”

Kerr has long been outspoken against gun violence after his father was fatally shot in a terrorist attack in Beirut in 1984.

Kerr stressed the need for common sense gun laws, including background checks, safety training and registration. He also said there’s “no reason” for semi-automatic weapons to be in the hands of civilians.

“There’s a reason we don’t allow tanks on the street, there’s a reason we don’t allow automatic weapons, so why did we draw the line at semi-automatic weapons? Because those have been unbelievably deadly in most of these mass shootings,” Kerr said.

“We have to have the vast majority of people in this country actually step forward and say, ‘This is enough, and I’m going to support candidates that are going to fight for… common sense gun safety measures.’ Because we know from research that the vast majority of people do support common sense gun safety measures, it has to translate to our politics and our elections.”