These are the first pictures of the three men who were gunned down in a Californian bowling alley.

The victims – Astin Edwards, 28, Robert ‘Tank’ Meekins, 28, and Michael Radford, 20 – have been identified by family members.

At about 11.54pm on Friday shots were fired after a fight between patrons at the Gable House Bowl in Torrance took place, according to witnesses.

Meekins’ grieving mother Angeline Hubbard told KABC-7 that her son left behind a 5-year-old boy.

She added that her son did not deserve to die and pleaded for the gunman to surrender to authorities.

Ms Hubbard said: "My son was a loving person. He loved life and he loved his family.

"Oh my god. Nobody can imagine what I’m going through right now."

Radford was also a new dad with a young child, according to his family.

Heartbroken dad Dwayne Edwards spoke to CBSLA about watching his son die.

He said: "We had to all come up here. They said, ‘Get up here quick.’ Blood was coming out of his heart"

"I’m gonna bury my own kid, you ain’t supposed to bury your own kid."

He added that his son was trying to break up a fight before the shooting erupted.

Witnesses described the moment a gunman opened fire on revellers in a bowling alley killing the three men and injuring four others during a birthday party.

One described how he saw his brother had been shot in the chest while another claimed he heard nine shots fired.

People ran for cover in terror as the gunman rained bullets inside the complex in the early hours of this morning.

Speaking to Mirror Online, a witness said he went to Gable House Bowl in Torrance, California, for a friend’s birthday party.

"I got there around 11.30pm from work to join my best friend for karaoke," he said.

"They were singing when I got there. When they done I went to rest room and back, within five minutes of being back people start storming into karaoke from bowling room shouting shooting gun shot fired etc.

"My friend pull us to the floor and turn the tables on their side for protection.

"The staff was on it, they tell everyone to get into the back where they lock the door.

"I didn’t go because I was looking for a way out, but was told the shooter was outside.

"Then few minutes people start running again, that is when I fell over a chair.

"I’m Jamaican from the ‘ghetto’ I have seen share of stuff like this… but never had I being in a room with this happens."

The man said he hid for about five minutes before a security guard directed him to an exit.

LA Times journalist at the scene, Ruben Vives, reported seeing a man with bandages to his back, with his t-shirt torn and covered in blood.

He tweeted: "Brandon Tyre, 31, said he was inside celebrating a friend’s birthday, bowling when a fight broke out and then he heard gun shots.

"When he looked, his brother had been shot in the chest.

"He’s waiting to hear what happened to his brother who remains inside the Gable House Bowl.

"It’s a fluid situation here, people trying to figure out were loved ones are.

"Witnesses say a fight at the Gable House Bowl in Torrance turned into a shooting. People are throwing up.

"Family relative crying and screaming."

Ruben shared a video from outside the bowling alley, behind police tape, which showed people hugging and crying, and walking away from the scene.

Another witness, Jesus Perez, of San Pedro, told the LA Times he was inside as it happened and he heard four gunshots.

"We just ran right into the bar and took cover," he said.

"All we heard was just, like two people got shot.

Were you at the bowling alley or nearby and saw what happened? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]

"We heard there was a big fight before that. We just ran into the bar and we just took cover because after the fight we heard pop pop."

He said after 15 minutes of hiding a security guard took him out the back of the complex.

Another witness, speaking to Mirror Online, said: "I counted six or seven shots."

A third, Dave Lap, speaking to Mirror Online, described laying on top of his children until they could escape.

The 54-year-old, who has recently moved to Torrance, was visiting the bowling alley with his wife, children and his daughter’s boyfriend.

He said: "The shooting was up at the cash register area in the front and we were several lanes away bowling when we heard shots ring out and everybody started either running or dropping out of fear.

"You could immediately tell it was a fight and not a terrorist situation where everybody is going to be targeted.

"We stayed on the ground for about five minutes, I was just laying on top of one of the kids, and then we ran out the emergency exit to the rear.

"We somehow couldn’t find my 21-year-old son in the process so I went back in looking for him and luckily found him right away near the exit.

"By then there were 20 plus police cars and emergency vehicles. We were able to get our car so we all went home with our bowling shoes still on."

He added: "I never spoke to them [police] but they arrived after would seem to just a few minutes and went straight in. Props to them, zero hesitation straight to area where fight had been.

"It would have been very easy for the shooter to leave with the crowd."

Scanner audio of the police call out, posted on Twitter, confirmed the shooting was at Gable House Bowl.

An officer can be heard saying: "The subject ran out the door of the parking lot.

"Shooting in the parking lot also."

Another said: "This is an active shooter situation… we have multiple subjects down inside and outside Gable House."

Three people were killed and four injured, police confirmed.

They have not said whether the suspect or suspects have been detained and the motive for the attack is unknown.

Torrance Police tweeted: "Reports of shots fired with multiple victims down."

They added: "T P D is on scene. Investigation is ongoing. Please stay away from the area."

Horrifying video from inside Gable House Bowl , posted on social media by a witness, shows a male victim covered in blood on the ground.

Officers can be seen tending to the man, who isn’t moving, and cutting off his blood-soaked t-shirt.

A distressed woman can be heard shouting "call his f****** baby mumma please".

The woman then can be seen standing over the victim, crying and screaming.

As the person filming the video walks around the bowling alley, multiple people can be heard shouting.

A group of women then say their faces "are burning".

Writing on social media, the camera-person said: "Still processing tonight, I am good.

"Gunshots fired, heard ppl died n injured. I was distance away, but people ran in our room."

The shooting happened just before midnight local time, according to a witness.

A woman posted on social media: "My mom was at the Gable House tonight celebrating her birthday and a shooting broke out!"

The LA Times spoke to employees of the bowling alley, who said violence there is "rare" and the business is "calm" overall.

Families go there to have birthday parties, they said.

A former employee of the complex said recently rougher crowds have been gathering at the bowling alley, and he believes there was another shooting in the car park recently.

Nearby residents reported seeing police dogs and helicopters in the local area.

Coastal city Torrance is about 20 miles (32km) from Los Angeles.

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