Update
Updated: Wednesday, December 31, 2025, at 9 a.m.
Authorities say a man critically injured by an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound near the San Pablo Police Department is a person of interest in the fatal shooting of a coworker a day earlier at a Richmond IHOP restaurant.
Police confirmed Tuesday evening that the shooting near the San Pablo Police Department is directly related to the ongoing homicide investigation in Richmond.
Richmond Police investigate homicide at Hilltop IHOP Restaurant
Updated: Tuesday, December 30, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. Richmond police are investigating a homicide after a person was found unconscious and later pronounced dead Monday afternoon inside an IHOP restaurant at the Hilltop Plaza, authorities said. Officers responded at about 1:43 p.m. to assist the Richmond
Soren Hemmila
“The incident that occurred earlier this evening near the San Pablo Police Department is related to the homicide investigation that took place yesterday in the City of Richmond,” Richmond police Lt. Donald Patchin, the department’s chief of staff and public information officer, said in a statement.
"Through diligent investigative efforts, detectives identified a person of interest in this homicide," Patchin said. "The person of interest, who is not being identified at this time, is a coworker of the victim and a resident of San Pablo. Detectives obtained a warrant for the individual’s arrest and were actively attempting to locate him."
According to San Pablo Police Capt. James Laughter, officers were handling an unrelated call for service when the man briefly approached one of them in the station parking lot.
“A male subject approached one of our officers, and there was a language barrier during this brief interaction,” Laughter said. “The male subject then walked away from our officers, and then our officer turned his attention back to the original call for service.”
Shortly afterward, officers heard a gunshot.
“Our officers heard one single gunshot from within the parking lot of the San Pablo Police Department,” Laughter said. “We then located a male subject lying on the ground with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
San Pablo Police Public Information Officer Peggy Chou said officers rendered life-saving aid, and the man was transported to a local hospital, where he remains in critical condition.
"During the course of the investigation, it was determined that the male subject, a 44-year-old San Pablo resident, is a person of interest in a homicide investigation which occurred in the City of Richmond on December 29, 2025," Chou said. "Following the shooting incident on December 30, Richmond PD Detectives responded to the San Pablo Police Department to process the scene and assume their investigation."
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