Riverside County Sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez said Palm Desert police got a call saying shots had been fired inside the store and two people were dead inside, the Desert Sun of Palm Desert, Calif., reported.

Palm Desert Councilman Jim Ferguson said police told him two men armed with handguns shot and killed each other and that there were 25 witnesses, the newspaper reported.

Sarah Pacia of Cathedral City, Calif., said she was in the department store with her two boys, ages 4 and 6, when she heard a commotion in the next aisle. She thought it was people rushing to get a sale item, and then she heard three or four gun shots.

"This is Toys R Us. There are kids shopping in there," Pacia said.