FRESNO, CALIFORNIA - A gunman with an apparent dislike of white people and government killed three people in downtown Fresno on Tuesday, before he was taken into custody while shouting "Allahu Akhbar", police said.
Authorities say the man accused of shooting and killing three people in central California fired 16 rounds in one minute.
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said 39-year-old Kori Ali Muhammad was armed with a revolver and reloaded at one point. He opened fire at four locations within a block.
Muhammad was arrested shortly after the shooting. He also was wanted for a separate killing from last week, in which a motel security guard in Fresno was gunned down.
Dyer has said Muhammad told police he hates white people and shouted "God is great!" in Arabic before the killings. All three victims in Tuesday's killings were white men, and Muhammad is black.
"Immediately upon the individual seeing the officer he literally dove onto the ground and was taken into custody and as he was taken into custody he yelled out 'Allahu Akhbar'," Dyer said.
"He does not like white people", the chief added, citing the black suspect's statements after being arrested and his Facebook postings.
Dyer said his department had contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation over the incident.
The Fresno Bee newspaper reported that the gunman opened fire with a handgun while cursing shortly before 11am (1am Wednesday, Thailand time) near a Catholic Charities building.
Fresno is an agricultural hub in California's central valley, about 275 kilometres southeast of San Francisco.
County government buildings were placed on lockdown and residents were urged to shelter in place, according to the newspaper.
Local television images showed a body covered in a yellow tarp in a street near where police tape marked off several crime scenes.