Four people have been killed and several more injured in a shooting in Alabama, officials have said.
The incident is reported to have taken place at a teenager’s 16th birthday party late on Saturday evening in the city of Dadeville, in Tallapoosa County.
It was not immediately known if a suspect was in custody.
WRBL-TV reported it occurred at a dance studio. The station showed images of crime scene tape around the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio and neighbouring buildings, as well as a heavy police presence.
Pastor Ben Hayes, who serves as the chaplain for the Dadeville Police Department and for the local high school football team, said most of the victims are teenagers because the shooting occurred at a birthday party for a 16-year-old.
He said the shooting has rocked the small town where serious crime is rare.
“One of the young men that was killed was one of our star athletes and just a great guy.
“So I knew many of these students. Dadeville is a small town and this is going to affect everybody in this area,” Mr Hayes said.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said the shooting happened at about 10.30pm and gave no information about a possible motive.
The FBI, the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Fifth Circuit District Attorney’s Office had also responded to the scene and were assisting with the investigation.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said in a statement: “This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians.
“Violent crime has no place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge.”
Dadeville is a small city of about 3,000 people 45 miles northeast of Montgomery, Alabama.
There have been 162 mass shootings so far this year, according to Gun Violence Archive.
The Dadeville shooting occurred within weeks of two high-profile mass shootings in the nearby states of Tennessee and Kentucky, which prompted local leaders to call for tighter gun control measures last week.
A bank employee shot dead five colleagues and wounded nine other people at his workplace in Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday.
On 27 March, three nine-year-olds and three staff members were killed at a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, by a former student.
