Washington:

Two people were killed and six others wounded in a shooting at a block party on Saturday in the US city of Memphis, local police said.

Two people were found dead at the scene, and one of the six wounded “remains in critical condition” at an area hospital, the Memphis Police Department wrote on social media platform X.

The shooting occurred at an unpermitted block party with about 200 to 300 people near Orange Mound Park in the southern state of Tennessee, the department said on X earlier.

Gun violence is common in the United States, a country where there are more firearms than people. Attempts to clamp down on gun rights are always met with stiff political resistance.

The United States has recorded 120 mass shootings this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nongovernmental organization that defines a mass shooting as four or more people wounded or killed.

Last year ended with a total of 656 such shootings.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Eight people were shot including two men who were killed at an unsanctioned public party in a Memphis city park Saturday night, police said.

Officers responded at 7:19 p.m. to a reported shooting, Memphis Police Department Chief Cerelyn Davis said during a news conference at the scene.

Two men were pronounced dead at the scene, Ms. Davis said.

The six surviving victims were transported to area hospitals and one was in critical condition at Regional One Health in Memphis, police said.

The shooting occurred at a block party in Orange Mound Park, which Ms. Davis said included an estimated 200 to 300 attendees but did not appear to have been issued a city permit.

At least two people are believed to have fired weapons during the shooting and police were examining video footage as part of the ongoing investigation, Ms. Davis said. There were no immediate arrests.

“In light of recent events, we stand together to denounce these senseless acts of violence,” Ms. Davis said.

The Memphis police initially reported there were 16 people shot but revised the number in a social media post, noting the error appeared to have been a result of “several victims being reported multiple times.”