Austin shooting: US police officials warned people to stay away from downtown Austin. Austin shooting: US police officials warned people to stay away from downtown Austin.

A gunman killed a woman and seriously wounded three others in Austin early on Sunday when he shot into a crowd as people streamed out of nightclubs in the Texan capital’s downtown area, police said.

The unidentified gunman opened fire at about 2:15 a.m. local time before fleeing, Austin police chief of staff Brian Manley told reporters. The motive for the attack was not immediately clear.

“Active shooter incident downtown, multiple victims. Stay away from downtown,” Austin police said in a message on Twitter. It was not immediately clear how many people were shot.

In an update on Twitter, the Austin Police said there were shootings at multiple locations. “Update: separate shootings within the same area. Both scenes are secure at this time. PIO responding to identify staging area.”

The Austin Medical Emergency Services also took to Twitter warning residents to stay away from sixth street saying several people were injured in a shooting incident. The police officials have also asked the media not to contact them for now and updates will be provided as early as possible.

UPDATES: Texas shooting

* Witness Dorian Santiago told the media: “We heard five shots and then people started running crazy … We don’t hear any more shots …The cops were running behind someone.

WATCH VIDEO: Austin Shooting: Multiple Victims, At Least One Dead

* News agency in Texas report that at least one of the shootings took place outside Friends Bar.

No further updates re: 2 shootings in downtown area. Any new info will be released via social media. Current details:https://t.co/Bd9LMuXzoH — Austin Police Dept (@Austin_Police) July 31, 2016

* An eyewitness told Sky News: “There was a girl freaking out who was injured … The other one was already on the floor – they were doing CPR to help her but it looked like she was already dead.”

* Raw videos from the location show people running out of buildings after they heard gunfire. The attack took place at around 3 am this morning (local time).

* The shooting reportedly took place a little before 3 am Sunday morning. About half an hour later, the police confirmed the area to be secure. However, there were no reports on whether the gunman was apprehended by the police or shot dead by police officials.

* A woman in her 30s was killed in the shooting, the Austin American-Statesman newspaper reported on its website, citing the Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services agency. The report could not immediately be confirmed by us.

Watch | Austin Shooting: Multiple Victims, At Least One Dead

On Saturday, officials said a shooting left three people dead and another person hurt in a Seattle suburb. A suspect was apprehended and is in custody. The city of Mukilteo said on its Twitter feed that there were three fatalities in the Chennault neighborhood.

This is a developing story, more details are awaited.

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App.

© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd