Two people were killed and 8 wounded in a shooting in downtown Minneapolis, police said early Saturday.
"Preliminary investigation reveals that two people were standing in a crowded area and got into a verbal confrontation," the Minneapolis Police Department said in a statement." Both individuals pulled out guns and began shooting at each other."
After hearing a gunshot at 1:59 a.m. local time, the statement said officers in the area of the 300 block of N 1st Avenue "encountered an exceptionally chaotic scene."
Several people were lying on the ground and the officers began treating the wounded.
Five men and five women were shot, the department said in a series of tweets.
Two of the men died and another man was at a hospital in a "critical condition," the police statement said. The other seven had non-life-threatening injuries and most were being treated at the Hennepin County Medical Center, police added.
No arrests were immediately announced.
Police said order had been restored and that a Medical Examiner would release the identity of the victims, along with the nature and cause of death in the days to come.
