Gunman opens fire at church festival, 3 injured

updated 3:07 p.m. ET May 17, 2008

LOS ANGELES - A man with a rifle opened fire at a festival outside a Southern California church Saturday, wounding three people, one of them critically, police said.

Shots rang out shortly before 11 a.m. outside St. John Baptist de la Salle, a Roman Catholic church in Granada Hills, Officer Norma Eisenman said. Bystanders tackled the man and held him until he was taken into police custody, she said.

The gunman wounded three people, including a female who was shot in the elbow, Eisenman said. Two were taken to a hospital in stable condition and one in critical condition, she said.

Another person was treated for chest pains, said Brian Humphrey, a fire department spokesman.

The motive for the attack was not immediately known, Eisenman said.

Church officials did not immediately return calls for comment.

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