Two dead, seven injured after two shootings in Washington D.C.

Two shootings in Washington, D.C. left two people dead and seven injured late on Thursday, reports by police and several media outlets said.

The authorities on Friday hunted for a pair of suspects from one of the attacks likely armed with an assault rifle.

In the first attack, one man was killed and five people wounded, two of them critically, in a drive-by shooting. The victims had been standing in an apartment building courtyard in the Columbia Heights neighbourhood when they were shot, Metropolitan Police commander Stuart Emerman said.

Two suspects were seen in a Nissan sedan and used an “AK style rifle,” police said in statement.

“Detectives are interviewing witnesses and looking for camera footage,” Emerman said.

DC Police on Twitter confirmed the second shooting in the 1400 block of Rhode Island Avenue just south of the Brookland neighbourhood but gave no other details.

According to sources, the incident happened about half an hour after the first shooting. Three people were shot, leaving one dead in the northeastern part of the city.

There was no initial indication the two shootings were linked, NBC reported, citing police.