SANTA ANA : 3 Hurt in Shooting After Game of Pool

Three men were shot and wounded Monday after a fight erupted over a game of pool, police said.

One of the wounded men apparently pulled out a .380 semiautomatic handgun and began firing after losing a pool game to another patron at the Bobkin, a popular pool hall and bar at 2531 S. Main St. near Warner Avenue.

The other two men wounded in the 4:40 p.m. shooting were bystanders, police said. None of the victims was identified.

“It looks like the individual who pulled the gun got the worst of it,” said Police Sgt. Joe Esther, who noted that the man sustained two gunshots to his abdomen. “The other two were minding their own business.”

Police said they detained several people who were involved in the fight, but preliminary information seemed to indicate that the man who fired the semiautomatic was the only one armed. He apparently was wounded during a struggle over the gun, police said.

None of the victims appeared to have suffered life-threatening wounds, Esther said. They were taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana and UCI Medical Center in Orange.

Police Sgt. Jack Rife said the man armed with the semiautomatic fired five shots. Dozens of people who were in the pool hall ran out the two exits.

“It was pure chaos,” said Rife, who was one of the first officers to arrive at the scene. “People were absolutely scared.”