Three people were killed and one injured in western France on Wednesday after a man open fire during a business meeting, national police told CNN.

Police said the motive is unclear but there is a professional link between the shooter -- who is also injured - and the company in Saint-Varent, France, where the incident took place. The town is about 366 kilometers (277 miles) southwest of Paris.

"The events happened today in a quarry in Saint-Varent, in the office buildings for a material extraction company," a spokeswoman for the national police said.

"An employee whose status is currently unknown burst into the company's administrative offices and entered a room where a business meeting was taking place."

The man, who police say was was armed with a handgun, ultimately "turned the gun on himself " the spokeswoman said. "He is now injured and was transferred to the hospital where he is in life-threatening condition."

Thirty officers have been deployed to the scene of the triple homicide and an investigation is ongoing, according to police.

"What we know is that it happened in the workplace and there is a professional link between the person who fired the shots and the company," said the police spokeswoman.

"He was on a work leave and apparently had been declared unfit to resume working. We do not know exactly for what reason. This may have been a factor in the events, this is an interesting lead, but we remain open to all options," she said.

"For all we know, it could be related to a love relationship, or it could be an act of madness related to a destabilized individual." (Text, excluding headline, courtesy CNN)

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