At least two people were killed and 28 wounded in a mass shooting early Sunday in the US city of Baltimore, police said.

Police received multiple calls about a shooting just after 12:30 am Sunday (04:30 GMT) in the city’s Brooklyn neighborhood in Maryland state, Acting Police Commissioner Rich Worley said during a press conference.

“Upon officers’ arrival we located multiple victims suffering from gunshot wounds,” Worley said.

One adult woman was found deceased at the scene and nine additional victims were transported from the location to area hospitals, he said.

Twenty other victims went to hospitals in the region, the commissioner added.

The other deceased victim was also an adult. Three people are in critical condition, he said.

Worley said authorities were working to identify a suspect and determine a motive for the shooting.

“This is an absolute tragedy that did not have to happen,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said at the press conference.

“It again highlights the impacts and the need to deal with the over-proliferation of illegal guns on our streets and the ability for those who should not have them to get their hands on them,” Scott said.

“We will not stop until we find those cowards who decided to just shoot dozens of people, causing two people to lose their lives,” he said.

With more firearms than inhabitants, the United States has the highest rate of gun deaths of any developed country — 20,200 in 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive. (AFP)