Witnesses: Deadly Vallejo shooting involving cop started as confrontation over parking spot

VALLEJO, Calif. (KGO) -- Witnesses say the deadly shooting that happened last night in Vallejo involving an off-duty Richmond police officer may have started as a confrontation over a parking spot.

It happened at 5:30 last night in the parking lot of the Valero gas station and JJ Fish and Chicken Restaurant on Fairgrounds Drive.

"The world is going crazy. Apparently it was an argument over a parking spot and I'm like why does it have to go this far? It's not worth it. It really isn't. You can park somewhere else. You can walk 30 more feet than take a life or end up dead because you argued with someone and they had the gun or whatever the situation is. It's just ridiculous," said Kim Lynch who manages the apartment building across the street. Her husband and daughter were at the gas station when it happened.

According to investigators, the shooter is an off-duty Richmond police officer. They have not released information about why this happened.

Lynch described what her husband saw.

"He seen the guy running and the off-duty cop chasing him down the road and then he heard more shots but he couldn't tell who was shooting, who shot first. But the wife was yelling 'my husband is an off-duty cop! Everyone needs to stop! He is doing his job!' My husband was like 'But he chased them down!' and she was like 'You don't know! He came to our car! He pulled a gun first! He was arguing about parking! He wanted to get on my husband about the parking spot!'

The clerk at the Valero store says the surveillance video shows the two men arguing over a parking spot. Investigators now have that video and have not commented.

Customers like Tony Draper can't believe this happened here.

"It's never good to hear something like that but it was shocking - and then to be involved with a cop," said Draper.

He says he got here minutes after the shooting. He is feeling grateful he went to Popeye's first, where the line for the new chicken sandwich was really long.

"You hear a lot of stuff happening with police but it's always a shock to actually hear something like that and then to almost be here when it happened. Lucky Popeye's had that line around the corner or I'd have been right there," he said.

Police have not released information about the man who was killed. Vallejo police officers are investigating.