A shooting on the grounds of Sacramento City College left one person dead, two others injured and the campus on lockdown Thursday night, the Sacramento Police Department said.

The shooting took place Thursday afternoon in a parking lot near a baseball field on the southern edge of campus, according to the police. The victim, who was not publicly identified, was pronounced dead at the scene. Another person was shot several times and was taken to a hospital, said Rick Brewer, a spokesman for Sacramento City College, and a third person sustained minor injuries.

Mr. Brewer said the shooting began as a “verbal altercation” between four men that turned deadly when one pulled out a semiautomatic handgun. He said the campus was on lockdown Thursday night and students and staff members were being systematically evacuated from buildings and searched.

The police said in a message posted to Twitter that they were looking for a suspect they described as a Tongan man in beige cargo shorts and a white shirt.