May 15 (UPI) -- Authorities in Texas said at least two people were killed and three others were injured Sunday during a shooting that erupted at a busy Houston flea market.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced the shooting at 8720 Airline Drive on Twitter, stating multiple shots were fired and at least two pistols were recovered.
"For now, it appears the wounded were all likely participants in the altercation," he said, adding no bystanders were injured.
Susan Cotter, major of patrol for the county, told reporters during a press conference that the shooting began shortly after 1 p.m. within the flea market as a result of an altercation that turned into a gun battle between two groups of Hispanic men in their 20s.
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Two suspects were arrested at the scene with another among the three people transported to local hospitals, she said. A total of five people were shot.
"It's very tragic that this happened because... there's a lot of people up and down Airline here just trying to come out and enjoy the flea market," she said. "So, it's very tragic."
Thousands of people were at the flea market when the shooting began, Harris noted.
Cotter said that the shooting does not appear to be a random incident with the men being known to one another.
Authorities are unclear about what sparked the fight and are looking for video of the incident Cotter said, adding that there are also few witnesses as the crowd scattered when the shots were fired.
The shooting occurred during a violent weekend in the United States that included a mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo on Saturday that saw 10 people killed. Suspect Payton Gendron, 18, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
On Sunday, one person was killed and four others were critically injured in a shooting at a California church. The suspect, who was identified as an Asian man in his 60s, was detained by people at the religious facility.
The city of Milwaukee was also put under curfew Saturday after a series of overnight shootings left 21 people injured.
According to The Gun Violence Archive, which tracks U.S. gun violence, as of Sunday there have been more than 200 mass shootings nationwide.
