Man killed outside Pleasant Hill bar

PLEASANT HILL, Calif. - A 37-year-old Concord man was killed outside a Pleasant Hill bar early Monday; he was shot in the parking lot, stemming from a dispute inside.

Police said they are looking for the shooter, who pulled out a gun about 1 a.m. near Farrington's Bar at the Pleasant Hill Plaza Shopping Center on Contra Costa Boulevard. Officers said he took off in a car, but there was no immediate description. 

When officers arrived, they found the victim in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to his head, according to Pleasant Hill Police Chief Scott Vermillion. Police first said the victim was 26, but later corrected themselves.

Vermillion said there had been some sort of initial argument that started in the bar, which then spilled outside into the parking lot. The victim somehow got involved in the fight.

It's unclear what the fight was about, but police said they believe a number of the people involved knew each other.

"The homicide tonight was started after an argument in the parking lot after parties had left the bar," Vermillion said. "There was some pushing that occurred at one point somebody pulled out a gun and shot the victim."

Police and crime scene tape were seen throughout the shopping plaza. 

This is the city's first homicide since 2021.