A 24-hour arts and music festival in the US was on the verge of being shut down due to numerous fights when gunfire erupted with one gunman shot dead and 22 others, including two other suspects, injured.
Seventeen people were treated for gunshot wounds, including a 13-year-old boy, after the shooting at the Art All Night Trenton festival in New Jersey early on Sunday morning (local time), Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri said.
One person, one of the suspects in the shooting, remains in a critical condition.
About 1,000 people were attending the event which showcases local art, music, food and films when shots rang out, sending people scrambling to safety.
Onofri said numerous fights inside and outside the venue had prompted police to tell organisers that the event needed to be shut down.
"There was a report that the mood inside the venue had been changing," Onofri said.
"During that time period, prior to the shooting, the Trenton Police Department began dispersing individuals. Those individuals, however, continued to loiter and additional fights broke out."
Authorities believe several neighborhood gangs had a dispute, and multiple suspects began shooting at each other, with police returning fire, Onofri said.
Tahaij Wells, 33, the suspect who was killed, had recently been released from prison and was on parole since February on homicide-related charges, Onofri said.
Another suspect, 23-year-old Amir Armstrong, remained hospitalised in stable condition and was charged with a weapons offence. A third suspect remained in critical condition.
Gennie Darisme was getting ready to leave the festival when she heard gunfire and saw people running.
"There were people trampling other people, cars hitting other cars," she said.
When she was walking back to her car after the gunfire stopped, Darisme said she saw someone bleeding on the ground, in handcuffs.
"People were running to him, trying to see his face, to see if he's a family member or a friend," she said.
Theresa Brown, who has been volunteering at Art All Night for 12 years, said she was leaving her volunteer shift when she heard "pop, pop, pop. I thought it was a car backfiring," she said.
The festival had been scheduled to run from 3 p.m. Saturday to 3 p.m. Sunday, before it was cancelled.
Australian Associated Press