A nightclub singer pulled out a gun and started shooting into the audience early Saturday after a patron leaped to the stage and shot him, police said. One man was killed and 10 others were wounded.
A man shot on the dance floor died, authorities said. The singer, the gunman and a third person were in critical condition.About 400 people were at the Plaza Los Arcos dance hall just after midnight when Edward Gallegos jumped onto the stage and shot Marcelino Sanchez, who uses the stage name Chalino, police said.
"He just jumped up on the stage, pulled a gun and shot," said police Lt. Joseph Murillo. "Why he did it, we don't know."
Sanchez, who was taking dedications at the time, pulled out his own gun and shot back. The singer's gunfire apparently missed the alleged attacker but may have hit other people on the dance floor, Murillo said.
Meanwhile, other patrons restrained Gallegos, who was shooting toward other people. Someone whom police hadn't identified grabbed Gallegos' gun and shot Gallegos, Murillo said.
Rene Carranza, 20, who suffered a serious leg wound, died later at John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio, according to Lou Schwartz, nursing supervisor.
Sanchez, 31, was in critical condition after undergoing surgery at Desert Hospital in Palm Springs, where Gallegos also was listed in critical condition, said nursing supervisor Efren Vargas.
Two others were hospitalized at Desert Hospital, one in critical condition and the other in fair condition, Vargas said.
Another man was at John F. Kennedy Memorial in fair condition.
The other victims were treated and released, police said.
No arrests had been made.
"They're both in the hospital," Murillo said. "Until we sort this thing out we won't take them into custody."