Three people have been killed and four injured in a shooting at a bowling alley in California.

Officers had earlier said they were responding to "reports of shots fired with multiple victims down" at Gable House Bowl in Torrance, a coastal city about 20 miles from Los Angeles, shortly before midnight on Friday.

Torrance Police Department urged people to "stay away from the area".

Reports of shots fired with multiple victims down. T P D is on scene. Investigation is ongoing. Please stay away from the area. — Torrance Police (@TorrancePD) January 5, 2019

Officers said three men died at the scene, two of whom have been identified by family members.

The mother of 28-year-old Robert Meekins told local media he had a five-year-old son. Angeline Hubbard said her son didn't deserve to die and pleaded for the gunman to surrender himself to authorities.


Another victim, Astin Edwards, 28, was trying to break up a fight before the shooting happened, according to his father.

Two of the four injured men were taken to hospital, and the remaining pair sought medical attention themselves.

It is not yet known how seriously they were hurt.

Police said in a statement: "Investigators are currently conducting a follow-up investigation, and are working to identify the suspect(s) involved."

The authorities have not released details about what led to the shooting, but witnesses said it followed a mass brawl between two large groups.

Wes Hamad, a 29-year-old Torrance resident, was at the bowling alley with his 13-year-old niece and cousin when he saw a "huge fight" break out.

Image: Officers responded to 'reports of shots fired with multiple victims down' at the venue

Mr Hamad said the brawl, which lasted about five minutes, blocked the entrance of the bowling alley and escalated into "complete chaos".

"I grabbed my niece and started running towards the far end of the bowling alley," he said. "As we were running, we heard 15 shots."

As he was leaving, Mr Hamad said he saw a woman weeping over a man who was riddled with gunshot wounds in his head and neck.

Jesus Perez of San Pedro, who was inside during the shooting, told the Los Angeles Times: "We just ran into the bar and we just took cover because after the fight we heard 'pop pop'."

After taking cover for 15 minutes, he said a security guard escorted him out.

Brandon Tyre, 31, who was inside celebrating a friend's birthday, had been bowling when the fight broke out.

His brother was hit in the chest and he was waiting to hear about his condition, he said.

One man, who declined to give his name, said: "There was a fight and then we heard nine gunshots."

Staff at Gable House Bowl, who could not give their names because they were not allowed to speak to the media, told the LA Times that trouble was rare at the venue, which is popular with families celebrating birthday parties.

The paper reported people outside the bowling alley were visibly shaken, with some people vomiting and others crying and screaming.

Anxious family members attempted to cross the police cordon to find out if their relatives were okay.

Gable House Bowl is described on its website as a gaming venue that offers bowling, laser tag and a full arcade.