SEVERAL PEOPLE WERE wounded today when shots were fired at a California college and on a bus nearby, and an alleged gunman was taken into custody, witnesses and police said.

But police added that there could be a second gunman still on the loose, after reports of the shootings in Santa Monica, west of Los Angeles, a few miles away from where President Barack Obama was attending a fundraiser.

Three people were injured at Santa Monica College, according to the Los Angeles Times, while live television showed police swarming into the area. Nearby schools and campuses were put on lockdown, the LA Times said.

California Highway Patrol (CHP) spokeswoman Denise Joslin said there was a surge of 911 calls shortly before midday from around the college.

“We had multiple witnesses call in to report having seen a male adult holding several weapons and firing into cars and at a bus,” she told CNN television.

Speaking to the local ABC7 channel, Joslin added: “It appears they do have one suspect in custody.

“However calls have continued to come in since then that there are possible additional shots fired and the possibility of a second suspect,” she told the television station.

ABC7 television reported that the alleged shooter in custody was injured.

One student told ABC7 he heard the gunfire. “I was near the bookstore when I heard 15 or 20 more shots,” said the unidentified student.

“I stopped and went into the Theater Arts building… I’m extremely shaken.”

Obama, on his way to a desert summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, was in Santa Monica speaking at a Democratic fundraiser several miles from the scene of the reported shooting.

Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan told a pool reporter traveling with Obama: “We are aware of the incident and it is not impacting the visit. It’s a local police matter at this point.”

- © AFP, 2013