Three Bay Area guns stores were ordered closed, another was put on notice, and the sheriff of California’s largest county reversed course again and ordered stores in his jurisdiction to also stop selling weapons Thursday as the debate over whether or not the businesses are essential played out across California in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.

“In compliance with (Gov. Gavin Newsom’s) executive order, gun and ammunition stores are not considered essential businesses and will cease to sell to the general public,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva tweeted Thursday. He had announced a similar position Tuesday, but pulled back after his county’s top lawyer wrote an opinion hours later calling the stores essential.

Villanueva and others have said they are concerned about the panic buying of guns in the midst of the crisis. Surges in gun sales have been reported across the state and the country, with some store owners saying they are proving an essential service by selling weapons.

In the Bay Area, a gun store in Pleasant Hill stopped sales and its doors were locked, and stores in Pacifica and Fremont were told to close because they are not considered essential businesses, officials said following a report by this news organization that they were open.

But whether all gun stores will be closed remained an open question Thursday, a day after Newsom said he would leave the matter up to “the sheriffs in their respective jurisdictions.”

Contra Costa County Sheriff David Livingston, president of the California State Sheriff’s Association, said in a statement Thursday that he wanted to know why health officials who worked out county shelter-in-place orders didn’t consider such businesses essential.

“I am concerned with the inconsistency among counties on this issue,” Livingston said. “I am also concerned that law-abiding citizens cannot purchase lawful firearms to protect themselves and their families. The Governor has left the matter to California’s sheriffs, so I am trying to take a thoughtful and informed approach as we move forward.”

Villanueva’s announcement and Livingston’s statement came as Pleasant Hill officials informed the owner of a gun shop there, City Arms East, that it was not an essential business and needed to close shut down, a city spokesperson, Gayle Vassar, wrote in an email.

“The store is to remain locked at all times and no new sales are allowed,” she wrote. “Persons who had already started the purchase process will be allowed to complete their purchase by appointment only, following social distancing guidelines.”

In Fremont, police said that the owner of Black Dog Armory was told to close his doors or face charges.

“He’s going to have to cease operations or we’re going to be forced to send a notice over to the District Attorney for charging,” Lt. Walter Shadle said.

In Pacifica, Police Chief Daniel Steidle said the City Arms store there was shut down except for customers picking up weapons they have already ordered. That will stop on April 6, “after which no further activity will be allowed at the business,” he said.

In Brentwood, City Manager Tim Ogden said the store there, Glaser Arms, would be hearing from the city.

“Both the county and state have issued guidelines for essential businesses. Gun sales don’t fit either, and we’ll provide them a notice accordingly,” he wrote in an email.

In neighboring Antioch, City Manager Ron Bernal didn’t respond to an email asking about the status of Antioch Armory, a gun store across the street from City Hall. The store was open Wednesday with customers browsing and workers demonstrating weapons.

In most of the Bay Area, other gun stores are closed after officials in Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, Marin and other neighboring counties issued shelter-in-place orders that included a list of essential businesses. Gun stores were not on it. The governor then put his own shelter-in-place order into effect statewide.

In counties that did not issue their own shelter-in-place orders, some sheriffs announced decisions Thursday that gun sales will continue, including San Diego, San Luis Obispo, and Shasta.

Staff writers Robert Salonga and Joseph Geha contributed this story