Australian police car (archive)
Australian police car (archive)iStock

At least five people are dead and several others wounded in a mass shooting incident in the northern Australian city of Darwin.

The incident occurred at the Palms Motel in Darwin on Tuesday, when a gunman carrying a pump action shotgun opened fire at around 5:50 p.m. local time.

Witnesses say the gunman, who has been described as a white male, was carrying a sawed-off shotgun and started shooting into hotel rooms. Other witnesses say the shooter opened fire at the Alatai Holiday Apartments complex.

“He shot up all the rooms and he went to every room looking for somebody and he shot them all up, then we saw him rush out, jump into his Toyota pick-up, and rush off,” one witness, John Rose, told ABC.

“Once he left we went in and found one gentleman, he’s over there, we pulled him out,” Rose added.

Authorities say a suspect, identified as a 45-year-old man, has been taken into custody in connection with the shooting spree.

Witnesses say some 20 shots were fired during the incident, before the shooter drove off in a white Toyota HiLux truck.