At least one person has been killed and three more wounded in a shooting at a college in South California, some three miles away from where US President Barack Obama was attending a fundraiser.

According to local media, an alleged gunman was taken into custody after shots were fired at Santa Monica College in South California yesterday, but police said that a second gunman could still be on the loose there.

Eyewitnesses saw a man dressed in black with a semi-automatic weapon in his hand and a belt full of ammunition around his waist, KNX 1070 radio station said.

The man “looked official” and did not have his face covered, a victim told the radio station.

A campus worker heard dozens of gunshots and saw students, who are appearing in final exams on the campus this week, scrambling for safety, another report said.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that Obama’s motorcade will head back to the Los Angeles airport to avoid any impact on the ongoing local response to the shooting.

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

“We are aware of the incident and it is not impacting the visit. It’s a local police matter at this point,” said Secret Service spokesman Edwin M. Donovan.

Nearby schools and campuses were put on lockdown, the police said, amid fast-moving developments and confusion over whether additional gunman could be at large.

In a statement, Santa Monica College said: “There have been reports of a shooter on the main SMC campus. The college is on lock-down. This means that if you are on the campus, stay out of open spaces, stay indoors, lock all doors and do not open the doors until you receive an all-clear from college officials.

If you are off campus, do NOT come to campus.”

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