MIAMI - As many as three gunman stormed a party on the edge of downtown Miami and opened fire early Monday morning, shooting 12 people and causing a chaotic scramble as people tried to flee the scene, authorities said.
Three of the wounded were hospitalized in critical condition, police spokesman Det. William Moreno said. Another person fleeing the home was struck by a vehicle and was in stable condition. Police are searching for the suspects.
The men were wearing all black and opened fire with automatic weapons around 12:45 a.m. One AK-47 and two pistols were found. It was unclear if the shooting happened in the home or outside what authorities described as a block party.
Police had roped off about four blocks with yellow tape in the area of the shooting, located in Miami's Overtown neighborhood, a run down area in the shadows of downtown's glistening skyscrapers. Crime scene trucks were parked along the street as detectives searched for a motive. Shell casing were sprayed across the road and inside the home, some possibly from Fourth of July celebrations, authorities said.
"There's a lot of casings," Miami police Chief John Timoney said.
Miami Fire-Rescue spokesman Ignatius Carroll said initially there were so many victims that there were not enough ambulances to take them to the hospital, he said.
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Associated Press writer Antonio Gonzalez contributed to this story.