Washington, Aug 25 (AP) Police said two people were killed and three others injured Wednesday in a shooting in front of a senior citizen's centre and near several schools in the nation's capital.

The Metropolitan Police Department said Wednesday's shooting happened in the Truxton Circle neighbourhood of Washington in front of a residence for senior citizens and near several high schools.

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The shooting happened just before 1 pm (local time) when a black SUV pulled up in front of the senior residence and two men hopped out and opened fire, Executive Assistant Police Chief Ashan Benedict said.

A total of five men were shot. Two died at the scene and three others were taken to area hospitals and were being treated Wednesday afternoon for their injuries.

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Benedict said police were still trying to collect evidence at the scene and working to identify a definitive motive but said the area is known to officers as "an open-air drug market."

Officers routinely make arrests there for the sale of narcotics and investigators believe the shooting was related to those drug sales, he said.

"This is an ongoing problem," Benedict said. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)