Four persons were wounded after a shooter opened fire in the Connecticut Avenue-Van Ness neighborhood of US capital Washington DC on Friday, the police said.

A 23-year old man who was identified as a “person of interest” in connection to the shooting was later found dead inside an apartment, the DC Police Department said. The police identify someone as a “person of interest” when they believe the individual might have information related to a crime.

Two women, a man and a minor girl received bullet wounds in the incident, according to the police.

Around 4 pm local time on Friday, the DC Police Department gave the first update on the shooting after they received reports of two persons being injured at 4100 block of the Connecticut Avenue.

The police started combing and evacuation operations in the neighbourhood and asked residents to take shelter. The University of the District of Columbia, situated across the street from the location of the shooting, was put under lockdown.

Lengthy bursts of gunfire could be heard in videos shared by the locals on social media. A secondary school and a number of embassies are located in the neighbourhood, according to AFP.

Around four hours after the police operation started, the DC Police department identified of 23-year old Raymond Spencer as a “person of interest”.

More than an hour after identifying Spencer, the police said that he was found dead inside an apartment in the Connecticut Avenue and Van Ness Street locality. The police also released photos of arms and ammunition recovered from the apartment.