A crime scene investigator photograph evidence markers at the scene of a mass shooting In Sacramento, Calif. April 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Six people were killed and 12 injured before dawn Sunday in Sacramento when multiple shooters fired amid crowds as bars and nightclubs emptied for the night in the second mass shooting in five weeks in California’s capital city, the police chief said.

Three of those killed were women and three were men, Police Chief Kathy Lester told reporters. Sgt. Zach Eaton, a police department spokesman, said investigators believe there were at least two shooters.

The suspects were still at large and authorities said they had recovered at least firearm and were reviewing video footage posted to social media that showed what appeared to be an altercation before the gunfire erupted.

Detectives were trying to determine the sequence of events before the shooting and Eaton said they “don’t know if that fight actually lead to the shooting.”

A police camera captured part of the shooting, Lester said, and investigators have located hundreds of pieces of evidence. A stolen handgun was found at the scene that Lester described as “really complex and complicated.”

The crime scene stretched across multiple city blocks, with dozens of blue and yellow evidence markers dotting the pavement. Several of those who were wounded battled life-threatening gunshot injuries in hospitals.

Kelsey Schar was staying on the fourth floor of Citizen Hotel when she said she heard gunshots and saw flashes in the dark. She walked to the window and “saw a guy running and just shooting,” Schar told The Associated Press in an interview.

Her friend, Madalyn Woodard, said she saw a crowd in the street scatter amid the gunfire and a girl who appeared to have been shot in the arm laying on the ground. Security guards from a nearby nightclub rushed to help the girl with what looked like napkins to try to stanch the bleeding.

A video posted on Twitter showed people running through the street amid the sounds of rapid gunfire in the city of about 525,000 located 75 miles (120 kilometers) from San Francisco.

The area where the violence occurred on the outskirts of the city’s main entertainment district is packed with restaurants and bars. Nightclubs close at 2 a.m. and it’s normal for streets to be full of people at that hour.

The district is anchored by the Golden One Center that attracts big-name concerts and is home to the NBA’s Sacramento Kings.