Three men were shot early Friday morning near the closing time of the TX Night Club on South Harlan Road and one was pronounced dead at the scene.

Saul Salas, 28, a rapper who had been entertaining at the club, his brother Herman, 35, both of Stockton, and another man were shot during an argument that reportedly broke out inside the club with an estimated 40 to 60 people funneling out into the parking lot.

The younger Salas was killed in the gunfire and the other two who were wounded were taken to an area hospital for treatment of their injuries. Sheriff’s public information officer Les Garcia was not aware of the extent of their conditions later Friday morning, but did say a news release would be forthcoming as the investigation by detectives continued.

The Night Club is located at 16925 South Harlan Road adjacent to the Quality Inn hotel complex where detectives were expected to be surveilling their video tape of the scene. A worker at the motel said the Night Club is usually a quiet venue.

A friend of the dead man who was at the scene said Salas was a local rapper who could be seen on entertaining on U-Tube. He said he was a part-time real estate man and had his master’s degree from San Jose State. He had also worked for Safeway in Tracy and for the federal government in Sacramento.

The coroner’s deputies claimed the body from the sidewalk in front of the club and an adjacent restaurant about 10:30 a.m. Deputies refrained from explaining why the deceased had been left there for some 10 hours.

Crime scene tape was removed from in front of the businesses shortly before noon when deputies left the location.