SANTA MARIA, Calif. _ Police have detained a man suspected of fatally shooting four men at a junk yard as panicked customers fled, authorities said.

Tuesday's shootings, all at close range, were ``very deliberate'' and the suspect likely reloaded at least once, police Chief Danny Macagni said. At least some of the victims worked at Black Road Auto in the outskirts of Santa Maria, about 240 kilometres northwest of Los Angeles.

``This is a case of workplace violence,'' the chief said without elaborating. ``We have a lot of work to do here. We have a very large crime scene.''

One victim was found in the junk yard's office and three outside. No one else was hurt.

``There were a lot of customers on the property, and they were running outside,'' police Lt. Dan Ast said. ``It was a pretty chaotic situation.''

One of the victims found outside still had a pulse, Ast said. While police searched for the gunman, paramedics were escorted onto the property under armed guard to treat the victim, but he did not survive, Ast said.

Ast told reporters late Tuesday that the suspect ``took off running, tried to get over a fence and was captured.'' The gunman discarded a semi-automatic handgun before he was taken into custody, and it was found later, police said.

The suspect was detained for questioning, but as of late Wednesday morning police had not released his name of those of the victims.

Police spent the night searching the yard for evidence, and to ensure that there were no other victims. © 2007 The Canadian Press