MIRA LOMA - A disgruntled patron opened fire with a shotgun in a bar early Friday, injuring eleven people, including a security guard, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said in a news release.

Several of the victims suffered serious but nonlife threatening injuries when the gunman sprayed bird shot in all directions, the news release said. They were taken to local hospitals for treatment.

The assailant escaped. He is described as a 6-foot, about 35 years old, weighing 240 pounds, with a muscular build, black hair and brown eyes.

The shooting took place at 12:41 a.m. at Las Copas bar at the northeast corner of Etiwanda Avenue and Jurupa Road in a western-style strip mall that includes a flower shop and a hair salon.

The man and four friends were kicked out of the bar for causing a disturbance, the news release said. He warned the security guard that there would retribution.

The man returned about a half-hour later with a shotgun, walked in the back door of the bar and began shooting.

One of the two security guards returned fire.

Owner Jose Martìn said he did not witness the incident and learned about it when he received a call at home at about 4 a.m. Friday.

He said he has owned Las Copas for about six years and described it as a neighborhood bar where people come to drink and play pool.

"This is the first problem I've ever had," he said.

Fatima Gudino, 20, whose family home is on Jurupa Road about a half-block east of the bar, said she was at her computer at about 1 a.m. when she heard popping noises.

"It sounded like firecrackers," she said.

She said when she heard a ricocheting noise, she realized it was gunfire. Gudino said a deputy knocked on the door at about 2 a.m., asking if they had seen or heard anything. She said he spent about two hours taking photos, measuring and searching for the bullets.

The Sheriff's Department asks that anyone with information about the incident contact Investigator Mike Portillo at 951-955-2600.

Reach Sandra Stokley at 951-368-9647 or sstokley@PE.com