SEATTLE — Two people were killed and five others, including a child, were wounded Sunday evening in a shooting during a popular food festival near the Space Needle in Seattle, according to a city fire department spokesperson.

The gunfire broke out at about 6 p.m. during the final hours of Bite of Seattle, an annual event that features hundreds of food and retail vendors as well as performers. Police were investigating the shooting and asked people to avoid the area just northwest of downtown Seattle. Authorities did not immediately say whether anyone had been taken into custody.

Grace Nuñez, spokesperson for the Seattle Fire Department, said two people died at the scene.

Five patients were taken to Harborview Medical Center, including a 56-year-old woman who was in serious condition, Nuñez said. A 2-year-old boy, a 23-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman were in stable condition, while a 40-year-old woman had minor injuries, she said.

Hospital spokesperson Susan Gregg said the injuries among four of the patients involved an arm, abdomen and legs.

A large number of police officers and emergency crews responded to the scene and began evacuating the area around Seattle Center, the sprawling events campus where the festival was being held. Authorities had not said exactly where within the event the shooting occurred. The festival included both outdoor and indoor areas, making the evacuation and securing of the campus a major part of the emergency response.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said he was receiving briefings on the shooting and that State Patrol SWAT officers had been deployed to assist local police.

“My prayers are with the families of the victims, and the responders as they work to keep people safe,” Ferguson said in a statement.

Faith Adia Hunter said she and her friends had just bought food from a crepe vendor when the gunfire began. She said she realized the shooter was close to them.

“We were right next to him when it started so we took off running,” Hunter said. “So we took off running too into the building with the crowd.”

Hunter said she and others took shelter inside the nearby Seattle Children’s Museum.

As panic spread after the shooting, many vendors ran toward the exits and left their food stands behind. Hours later, some remained outside the police tape, waiting to learn when they would be allowed back in to retrieve their tents, food and cooking equipment.

Roberto Ramirez, a vendor at the festival, said he first heard what sounded like firecrackers before people began shouting “shooter” and running frantically.

“Suddenly everything was empty,” Ramirez said. “People were freaked out.”

He said that after the initial panic, some newly arriving guests, unaware of what had happened, continued to approach the festival area and were instructed by police to leave.

Estan Wakonabo said he and his girlfriend were waiting in line for a photo booth at the festival when he was pushed from behind. When he turned around, he saw a crowd of people rushing away.

“People were hiding, were pushing, people were falling on the ground, baby strollers were falling,” Wakonabo said, adding that he then heard gunshots.

“Once I heard a ‘pop, pop, pop,’ that’s when I knew it was a shooter,” he said.

Wakonabo said that after escorting his girlfriend to safety, he returned to the area to take photos and saw multiple victims on the ground.

Bite of Seattle began in 1982 and draws 350,000 attendees over “three days of food, drink, and community celebration,” according to the festival’s website. The shooting left unresolved questions for investigators, including where within the festival grounds the gunfire started and whether a suspect had been identified or detained.