Two people were killed and three others were injured in a shooting in northwest Washington, D.C. on Wednesday afternoon.

The Metropolitan Police Department said Wednesday's shooting happened in the Truxton Circle neighborhood of Washington in front of a residence for senior citizens and near several high schools.

Police were called to North Capitol and O Street, Northwest, around 12:50 p.m. (1650 GMT) for reports of fired gunshots.

Officers found two people with gunshot wounds who were pronounced dead on the scene.

Three others had walked into nearby hospitals for treatment, police said. Their conditions are unknown.

Executive Assistant Police Chief Ashan Benedict said police were still trying to collect evidence at the scene and are working to identify a definitive motive, but he mentioned the area is known to officers as "an open-air drug market."

Officers routinely make arrests there for the sale of narcotics, and investigators believe the shooting was related to those drug sales, he said.

"This is an ongoing problem," Benedict said.

The shootings, which took place about one block from a school, continue a violent trend for the nation's capital. Homicides have risen for four years straight; the 2021 murder count of 227 was the highest since 2003, and the city is on pace to exceed that this year. 

Mayor Muriel Bowser, who is seeking reelection for a third term this fall, spent much of the Democratic primary race fending off charges that she was mishandling the violent crime situation.

"We need to get these people off the street. We need the criminal justice system to be a part of that," Benedict said. "We can always be better."

(With input from agencies)