Police say an employee of the bar shot and killed the man, who had opened fire in the parking lot.

EVERETT — A man was shot and killed early Saturday outside a bar south of Everett, allegedly while shooting at others.

The gunfire was reported about 2 a.m. at O’Finnigan’s Pub on Highway 99.

Witnesses said there was an argument among patrons, said Shari Ireton, a spokeswoman with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office. A 29-year-old man went outside and retrieved a gun from his vehicle. He opened fire in the parking lot.

Another patron, a 23-year-old Lynnwood man, was struck. The Lynnwood man was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and is expected to survive.

An employee of the bar, a 28-year-old man, pulled a weapon and shot and killed the suspect, according to police.

“No arrests have been made at this time and this incident remains under investigation,” Ireton said.

Later Saturday, police had northbound Highway 99 closed for several blocks around the scene. A fire department crew was using a ladder truck to hoist up investigators to get an aerial view. Yellow tape blocked off the bar’s parking lot, along with several vehicles that had been parked along the highway.

People getting gas across the street stopped to ask one another what was going on, lingering on the sidewalk.

The name of the man who was killed was not made public.

A number of shootings in Snohomish County over the past decade have been ruled self-defense, particularly in the case of home intruders.

It was too early to tell whether Saturday’s investigation will explore that theme.

State law prohibits people from carrying firearms inside bars, including those with concealed pistol licenses. There is an exemption for “security personnel.”

O’Finnigans Pub & Grill bills itself as an Irish bar and a hub for sports and karaoke.

Several reviews on its Facebook page make reference to other confrontations happening there, describing a heavy security presence.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @rikkiking.

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