Three dead and five others injured in mass shooting at Arkansas party

A man and woman, who police said were known to the shooter, were killed

Three people are dead, including the suspected shooter, and several are injured after a mass shooting at party in Arkansas (Sgt David Stout/Jonesboro Polic)

A gunman killed two people and injured five others during a mass shooting at a party in Arkansas.

Officers were dispatched when the violence broke out in Jonesboro shortly before 5 am on Sunday where they found “multiple gunshot wound victims,” the Jonesboro Police Department said in a Facebook post.

A man and woman, who police said were known to the shooter, were killed. The shooter also died, while five people were injured in the shooting, including a woman who police say was an acquaintance of the shooter.

Three other injured victims were not known to the suspect, police said, while it was unclear if the fifth wounded victim, who showed up at an area hospital with various wounds was known to the shooter.

Police spokesperson Sally Smith told CNN the two female victims were sisters.

Authorities said the shooting stemmed from a domestic disturbance that was carried over to a private party which was taking place in an abandoned building in the city northeast of Little Rock.

Officials did not release the identities of the victims nor a description of the wounds, and police did not say how the shooter died.

Police said there is no active threat to the community. An investigation is ongoing.

The incident is one of 73 mass shootings in the US this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as one in which at least four people are shot, excluding the shooter.

The state of Arkansas has the 15th highest rate of gun violence in the US, according to research from Everytown. In an average year in the state, 631 people die and 823 are injured by guns.

The rate of gun deaths increased by 40 per cent between 2012 and 2021, compared with a national average increase of 39 per cent.