Five injured, three critically amid mass shooting near roadway in Maryland

Five people have been reported injured after a mass shooting in Bladensburg, Maryland, near a roadway, three of whom are in critical condition, according to local authorities.

According to FOX DC, police were notified of the first reports of gunfire at 12:28pm in the 4300 block of Bladensburg Road, 40 miles east of Washington, DC.

Three of the five victims who were hospitalised were in critical condition.

Police in Bladensburg are asking people to avoid the area because Bladensburg and Annapolis Roads are closed.

Meanwhile, the circumstances surrounding the shootings are still unknown, according to the authorities.

Police are expected to hold a press conference at three, according to The Independent.

According to Brad Bell, bureau chief for 7 News DC, who is on the scene, four people in a car were hurt when the driver of another vehicle opened fire on a bridge over the Anacostia River.

The mass shooting in Maryland comes after at least nine people were shot in Cleveland, Ohio, when an armed suspect fired on a group and fled the scene.

No deaths were reported, but police arrived and provided medical aid to the injured.

The US has seen a drastic surge in mass shootings over the past few months, and there have been over 340 mass shootings in the country so far in 2023, according to data collected by the Gun Violence Archive — which defines a mass shooting as an incident in which at least four people are shot, excluding the shooter.