[Police say the area where the shooting took place has now been secured. The area leads to the Golden One Center, where the Sacramento Kings play basketball, and is only a few streets from the state Capitol building. (Photo by= CBS)]

At least six people have been killed and 10 injured in a shooting in the centre of Sacramento, police in California's state capital say, BBC reported. 

People fled through the streets after automatic gunfire rang out in an area packed with restaurants and bars. Police officers closed off an area between 9th Street and 13th after the shooting in the early hours of Sunday. They urged the public to come forward with any information that might help identify suspects. Sacramento police chief Katherine Lester told reporters that officers near a very large crowd in the area had heard shots around 02:00 (09:00 GMT).

According to ABC News, the shooting happened near the corner of 10th and K Street. Community activist Barry Accius arrived at the scene at about 02:30 after a city council member called him about the shooting, he told ABC affiliate station KXTV.
"It was just horrific," he said. "Just as soon as I walked up you saw a chaotic scene, police all over the place, victims with blood all over their bodies, folks screaming, folks crying, people going, 'Where is my brother?' Mothers crying and trying to identify who their child was."