Earlier this year, a farmworker was charged with the killings of seven farmworkers and injuring another, in two separate shootings at mushroom farms in Half Moon Bay. The Jan. 23 mass shooting was one of the 565 mass shootings to happen so far this year in the U.S., according to the Gun Violence Archive. The nonprofit and community-centered outreach organization Ayudando Latinos A Soñar (ALAS), sponsored the Día de Los Muertos event and dedicated an altar that was constructed at the Mac Dutra Plaza to honor the eight victims. A plaque that was written in English, Spanish and in Chinese, displayed words of solace next to the altar’s decorations that included pan dulce, bright orange marigolds, candles, and individual portraits of each victim. The event was Half Moon Bay’s first such opportunity to honor the victims since the mass shooting.
