Three people shot - one fatally - near New York Penn Station

The station is one of the region's most important transport hubs

Three people were shot near Penn Station (Twitter)

New York City authorities say three people have been shot, one fatally, in midtown New York near Penn Station just before the commuter rush-hour get undereway. No suspects have been arrested.

The incicent happened around 6.15am at the entrance of a subway station at 35th Street and Eighth Avenue, a block north of Penn Station, one of the nation's busiest transit hubs, the Associated Press reported.

Police say their preliminary investigation indicates that the shooting may have occurred inside the subway station and spilled out onto the street.

The New York Daily News said the dead man was aged 43. The two injured men were aged 45 and 48 and were taken to Bellevue Hospital.

Police later said they believed an altercation that led to the shooting started at about 6am at a McDonald's restaurant near Penn Station, where the gunshot victims were drinking coffee together. New York Police Department Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told reporters that the suspect entered the restaurant and briefly spoke with the group before leaving

When the victims left the restaurant and entered a stairwell leading to a nearby subway station, the suspect followed them and opened fire, Mr Boyce said.

The intersection where the shooting took place is one block north of where the A, C and E subway lines converge at Penn Station. Police closed several streets surrounding the site of the shooting and at least two bus routes, M20 and M34A, were detoured as police investigated the triple shooting.