SPRINGFIELD — One man is dead and four others wounded following a gunfight that took place in several city locations Friday evening.

Ryan Walsh, spokesman for the Springfield Police Department, said one man was shot and seriously wounded when gunmen opened fire on a gathering in a backyard on College Street just before 7 p.m. Friday evening.

The wounded individual was transported to the Baystate Medical Center, where he later died.

The shooters apparently fled the scene in a car parked on nearby Maynard Street, firing as they fled. They left a damaged car and a string of spent shell casings in their wake.

Jose Aguara lives on Maynard Street. He was having dinner when he heard what he at first thought was a dirt bike backfiring.

“I didn’t think anything of it,” he said. “I thought it was a dirt bike, but I hear people shouting and my brother came in to check on us. I went out and looked at my car and there’s a hole in the windshield.”

A bullet entered Aguara’s Subaru low on the left side of the windshield, traversed the front seat area and exited out the driver’s side rear window, shattering the window.

Not far up the street, several residents pointed out shell casings in the roadway.

Minutes after the initial shooting, a group from the College Street gathering caught up with the original shooters at the intersection of Page Boulevard and Berkshire Avenue and shots were exchanged.

Two wounded individuals from one car were found by police as they tried to flee down Beauregard Street. They were transported to the Baystate Medical Center for treatment of non-life-threatening wounds.

Two other individuals with gunshot wounds were brought to the emergency room at Mercy Hospital in private cars. Walsh said their injuries are considered non-life-threatening as well.

On College Street, cruisers blocked traffic as officers stretched yellow crime scene tape north of the Shattuck Street intersection.

Gideon Innis, Jr. was hanging out with his cousin at his Maynard Street home one block from the College Street scene. He said he heard the shots, but thought they were fireworks.

“I didn’t think they were anything. I thought maybe bottle rockets, but then 30 or 45 seconds later the police came flying in here.”

Gideon’s cousin, Leyando Wray said he knew they were gunshots from the beginning.

“They were too consistent,” he said. “Each one was exactly the same as the others. I knew.”

He said he heard between six and 10 shots.

Wray said he grabbed his 11-month-old daughter and moved to the back of the house as far away from the gunfire as he could.

A firearm and a large quantity of cocaine was seized from one of the vehicles, Walsh said. A male and female in the car were arrested at the scene.

Walsh said none of the wounded are cooperating with police.

The incident remains under investigation by the Springfield Homicide Unit.