Police in Oakland, California say a gunman has killed six people and wounded three at a religious school.

Police captured the suspect at a supermarket in the nearby city of Alameda shortly after the shooting.

One of those wounded says the suspect stood up during a class at Oikos University and shot one person directly in the chest before spraying the classroom with bullets.

Authorities have not identified the alleged gunman.

But the founder of Oikos University, Pastor Jong Kim, told the Oakland Tribune newspaper that the shooter is a former nursing student. Kim said he did not know whether the suspect was expelled from the school or dropped out.

The gunman's motive is also unknown.