Four shot at US Caribbean music festival

A man opened fire at a Caribbean music festival in the US, wounding at least four people, police said.

Two women were also injured as the crowd rushed to flee the shooting.

Several thousand people had gathered at the arena for a Fourth of July party at the Houston Caribbean Festival.

Witnesses told police they saw a man open fire in the early hours of Saturday, hitting four men, police spokesman Jodi Silva said.

4 wounded, others injured during shooting at festival in S. Houston --> http://t.co/raKgCq0VlI #KHOU #HouNews pic.twitter.com/JyPNtcuhVx

— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) July 5, 2014

"Everybody was having a good time, until someone shot a firearm," Ms Silva said.

Immediately after the shots were heard, people panicked and began to flee, Ms Silva said.

Two females were hurt as people rushed to exit, but Ms Silva did not know the extent of their injuries. She said the shooting victims were taken to two different hospitals, and one man was in critical condition and not expected to survive.

No ages or identities for any of those hurt were available immediately.

The Houston Caribbean Festival is an annual event that takes place during the holiday week at different venues in the area. Messages left at the telephone number listed on the organiser's website were not immediately returned.

The arena is accessible by a small two-lane road, which made it difficult for emergency crews to arrive as thousands of cars tried to leave.

Aftermath of Caribbean party known as Jouvert in SE #houston. People ran to escape gunfire. Four shot, one critical pic.twitter.com/NaGsYySCeH

— Sally MacDonald (@SallyMacFox26) July 5, 2014

The organiser had medical care personnel at the arena. They were assisted by people at the party who had medical training.

There have been no arrests. The Houston Police Department is calling for people with information to come forward.

Ms Silva said about 30 off-duty policemen were at the festival to provide security but they were on the perimeter of the arena.