4 dead after shooting in Tacoma, Washington

Four people were killed in a shooting in Tacoma, Washington, on Thursday afternoon and authorities were searching for at least one suspect, police said.

The Tacoma Police Department said on Twitter that two females and one male had died at the scene and that a male was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. Police said later that the person taken to a hospital had died from his injuries.

"Somebody is shooting somebody across the street so immediately all of us got down on the floor," Greg Riemersma, who heard the gunshots, told CBS affiliate KIRO-TV.

The victims appeared to be adults, police told The News Tribune.

The shooting happened on the city's Eastside in the Salishan neighborhood.

Police spokeswoman Wendy Haddow said the shooting happened in an alley behind a residence at about 4:24 p.m. and that at least one victim was found in the street in front of the residence.

"This is a horrific crime," Haddow told KIRO. "At this time I cannot say whether there was one or multiple shooters."

As of 7 p.m., no suspect had been arrested or publicly identified.

Crime scene technicians and detectives had blocked off several blocks around the shooting scene and were expected to gather evidence into the night, she said.

There have been 27 homicides in Tacoma this year, Haddow said. The city has a population of about 212,000.