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A mass shooting killed four people and wounded 18 others at a popular Birmingham, Alabama, nightclub, with many victims caught in the crossfire, police said Sunday morning. Authorities are asking the public for information as they search for the shooter.

The shooting happened shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday in the Five Points South entertainment district, Officer Truman Fitzgerald said in an email.

Officers found two men and a woman on the sidewalk with gunshot wounds, and they were pronounced dead. Another man who was shot was pronounced dead at a hospital, Fitzgerald said.

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The initial investigation showed that “multiple suspects opened fire on a large group of people who were outside in a public space,” police said.

“Detectives believe the shooting was not random and was the result of separate incidents in which multiple victims were caught in the crossfire,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald said injured victims were beginning to arrive at the hospital. By early Sunday morning, police had identified 18 more victims with injuries, some of them life-threatening.

Authorities believe the intended target was among the dead, Police Chief Scott Thurmond said at a news conference Sunday morning.

“The suspect entered the vehicle, exited, fired shots, reentered the vehicle and left the scene,” Thurmond said.

There were no immediate arrests. A massive search for the shooters was underway and Birmingham police contacted federal law enforcement to help with the investigation, officials said. AL.comAnyone with information is urged to contact authorities.

“Rest assured that we will do everything in our power to uncover, identify and track down those responsible for the massacre of our people,” Fitzgerald said.

The Five Points South neighborhood contains entertainment venues, restaurants and bars and is often busy on Saturday nights.