Four people including a child have been killed in a shooting in a southern California office building.

Police say a fifth person was injured before the suspect was shot and wounded and later taken to hospital.

The shooting took place at around 5.30pm on Wednesday on Lincoln Avenue in Orange, about 30 miles southeast of central Los Angeles.

A police statement said: “Officers arrived as shots were being fired and located multiple victims at the scene including fatalities. An officer-involved shooting occurred.”

There are no details yet on what led up to the attack or why a child was in the building, said Lt. Jennifer Amat.

The officer said that by 7pm local time the situation was under control with no further threat to the public.

Signs indicated that the two-storey office building is home to several businesses. Local media said bodies could be seen on the second-floor walkway and in a courtyard.

The condition of the gunman is unclear.

Police said the shooting in the city of around 140,000 was the worst since December 1997.

California governor Gavin Newsom tweeted that the killings were “horrifying and heartbreaking.”

“Our hearts are with the families impacted by this terrible tragedy tonight,” he posted.

It is the third mass shooting in the US in recent weeks – on 23 March a gunman killed 10 people including a police officer in Boulder, Colorado.

That came less than a week after eight people died in shootings at massage parlours in and around Atlanta, Georgia.

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