Witnesses said 25-year-old singer, who is still on parole following his recent release from jail, had been the target of shots fired at the 1OAK club in West Hollywood, where he was hosting a pre-party for tonight's Video Music Awards.
Brown was thought to be unhurt, but three other victims - among them Death Row Records founder Marion 'Suge' Knight, 49, were reportedly taken to the city's Cedars Sinai hospital.
One of them was said to be in a critical condition.
Model and actor Tyson Beckford, and Black Eyed Peas member Apple de Ap were inside the pre-VMA party hosted by Brown and told TMZ they had heard four shots being fired at around 1.30am today.
Black Kapital Records CEO Knight was said to have walked out of the club, where he was spotted by a police officer and taken to hospital by ambulance.
He was reportedly shot twice, injuring his stomach and arm, and is now undergoing surgery.
The suspected gunmen were apprehended by police, as officers searched the nightspot for clues and quizzed revellers over the events of the night.
Roads around the nightclub were immediately sealed off by police, as the nightclub was evacuated, with several partygoers detained for questioning.
Guests at the event had also included singer Justin Bieber and rapper The Game.
Katie Clendon, thought to have been inside the club, said via her Twitter account that she thought Brown had been the intended target.
'Literally can't believe what I just witnessed. Someone tried to fire shots at Chris Brown at 1oak. Speechless.'
She added: 'Prayers to all those harmed by this. Honestly still in disbelief this happened.'
In the moments after the shots were fired, Brown was seen climbing onto what appeared to be a bar in the nightclub, apparently angrily remonstrating with other clubgoers as a bouncer looked to be telling him to 'Get down'.
Owned by New York-based Butter Group, the Los Angeles branch of 1OAK - which stands for One Of A Kind - is a spin off of the New York club, while there are further branches in Las Vegas and Mexico City.
The club, which bills itself as 'Bringing a New York nightclub experience to Los Angeles' has been open on the famous Sunset Strip since the start of the year and has proved popular with many celebrities, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Rihanna.
Last night's party at the club was a precursor to tonight's MTV Video Music Awards, which takes place from 6pm local time at LA's recently redeveloped Inglewood Forum.
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