Casualties reported in shooting at DC-area mall

Three people were hit by gunfire at the Westfield Montgomery Mall outside Washington, D.C., in Maryland, police said on Friday, without specifying the condition of the victims. 

The suspect in the shooting in suburban Bethesda was at large, police said on Twitter.

The initial call to authorities came in at 11:13 a.m. as an assault outside of the mall, Montgomery County police spokesman Rick Goodale said.

The shooting victims - two male and one female - were taken to a hospital, Goodale said.

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue said on Twitter that several injured people were transported. 

Montgomery County noted on Twitter reports of another shooting at a shopping center in nearby Aspen Hill. It was not immediately clear if the two shootings were related.

(Reuters reporting By Ian Simpson and Suzannah Gonzales; editing by Daniel Trotta and Bill Trott)