Baltimore: Gunmen shoot 8 people, including 3-year-old, and flee the scene

At least three gunmen were seen shooting and wounding eight people in eastern Baltimore in a fresh attack. While all three suspects are still at large, the police said a three-year-old girl, who was not an intended target, was among the wounded.

All the injured are expected to survive as none of their wounds are critical. The shooting took place at about 8.30pm local time on Saturday (24 September) when three attackers, one armed with a shotgun while the other two carried handguns, converged on a particular group of people on the street. At least a dozen shots were fired.

Police told a news conference that the incident appeared to be retaliation for an earlier shooting, which took place on 5 September killing one person. Baltimore police commissioner Ken Davis did not elaborate on how the two shootings were linked.

"The three shooters emerged — one from a dark alley, and two from up the street. They stopped short of the crowd and began firing," said Davis.

Investigators have not yet revealed the description of the suspected shooters. But, Davis said the assailants "need not to just be in jail, but underneath a jail".

The authorities have not revealed the identities of the victims but just noted one of them was a woman while the others were males with ages ranging from 26 to 39, apart from the girl.

"This was an intended shooting at victims. The three-year-old and the father were in a different location from the group, but these guys who committed this act really didn't care and they shot a three-year-old girl. These people wanted to be killers tonight but weren't successful in that," said T J Smith, chief of media relations officer at the Baltimore police.