Officers responded to reports of multiple shots fired in a parking lot near Second and Howard streets at about 2:15 a.m., San Francisco police Sgt. Dennis Toomer said.
Arriving officers found three men in their early 30s who had been shot in the upper torso, Toomer said.
None of the victims' injuries were expected to be life threatening, he said.
One of the victims was from San Francisco, and the other two were from the East Bay, Toomer said.
A preliminary investigation revealed the victims had been involved in a verbal argument with a Hispanic man in his 20s prior to the shooting.
The suspected shooter was described as standing around 6 feet tall and weighing between 150 and 175 pounds.
He fled the area in a gray sedan and has not been identified.
The case remains under investigation by San Francisco police.