Person of interest in Richmond homicide shoots himself near San Pablo Police Department

By Jose Fabian

Richmond police on Tuesday said a person of interest in a homicide shot himself in the parking lot of the San Pablo Police Department.

Richmond homicide investigation

Police said around 1:43 p.m. Monday, workers at an IHOP on the 3400 block of Klose Way called police and told them they had found their coworker unconscious, and that he appeared to have a head injury.

First responders at the scene provided first aid and called police when they noticed the wound did not look like it was accidental. Despite life-saving measures, the victim died at the scene.

Police said homicide detectives were then called when their preliminary investigation revealed the injury appeared to be a gunshot wound. During a press conference Tuesday night, Lt. Donald Patchin said they weren’t sure how no one heard the gunshot and that there were customers in the IHOP at the time.

Patchin also said that a person of interest was identified and that he is an employee at IHOP. An arrest warrant was secured, and officers began to search for the person, who is a San Pablo resident.

Police said they later learned the person of interest had shown up at the San Pablo Police Department, where he shot himself.

Shooting near San Pablo Police Department

At the joint press conference, Captain James Laughter said San Pablo officers were in their department parking lot, around 5:30 p.m., answering a separate call for service when a man approached them. Laughter said the officers were unable to communicate with the man because of a language barrier, and after the brief interaction, he walked away.

The officers then returned to answering their original call for service, and moments later, the man shot himself in the parking lot. 

“Our officers heard one single gunshot from within the parking lot of the San Pablo Police Department. We then located the male subject lying on the ground with a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Laughter said. “Our officers rendered medical aid, and the male subject was transported to a local hospital.”

The man is hospitalized and in critical condition, police said.

Because San Pablo officers were responding to a service call, their body camera was recording. Laughter said the footage was reviewed, and it was clear there was a language barrier. 

Patchin said not only was there a language barrier, but the man may not have been speaking coherently.

“It was kind of a rambling, unclear conversation, so even if we were able to potentially decipher what he was saying, it might not have made sense either way, is what my understanding is,” Patchin said.

Person of interest

Richmond police said the person of interest is in critical condition and that they do not know if he knew he was wanted by police or if he showed up for a separate reason. 

Patchin said he would not be identified as he remains a person of interest and has not been charged. There is also no information about a motive, police said.