At least three people were killed and four others, including a toddler, were injured in a shooting at a food festival in Seattle on Sunday evening, according to US media citing local authorities.

Police arrested a suspect, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said in a statement, describing the incident as "an act of horrific violence." 

At a joint press conference with the mayor, Deputy Police Chief Tyrone Davis told media that, in addition to the detained suspect, a search was under way for another person.

The two were believed to have opened fire on each other at the festival, US broadcaster CNN quoted Davis as saying. Two people died at the scene, while a third died from their injuries in hospital, he said.

The shooting took place at the Seattle Center, where the annual Bite of Seattle food festival was being held over the weekend, police said on X. 

The free annual event draws a crowd of some 350,000 attendees over three days.

The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear.

Witnesses cited by the Seattle Times and other local media said panic broke out after the gunfire, sending festival-goers fleeing the scene.

"Gun violence changes families forever," Wilson said, adding that the city mourned with the victims and their families and would keep the public informed as the investigation progresses.

According to the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), a non-governmental organization that documents firearm incidents in the US, this incident is one of at least 271 that have already occurred in the US this year in which bullets hit at least four people.

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