A male pal of former Friends actress Bonnie Somerville has been shot in the back after the pair was robbed at gunpoint following a Hollywood party.

Somerville, 34, and friend Walter Stewart were leaving an event on Sunset Boulevard just after 2am local time on Saturday when they were confronted by a lone gunman. The star began screaming as the assailant demanded she hand over her bag, and a struggle ensued. A shot was fired, hitting Stewart in the back.

The robber then told Somerville, "B**ch, give me your purse or you'll get shot too." She handed over her bag and the suspect, described as a black male in his teens, ran off into the night.

Police sources tell website TMZ.com Stewart was hit by a "small caliber bullet" but was "alert and awake" before he was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in West Hollywood, where he is in stable condition.

Somerville played Mona, one-time girlfriend of David Schwimmer's character Ross Geller, in the hit TV series.

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(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)