2 dead, 2 wounded in St. Louis drive-by shootings

Police secure the scene of one of the drive-by shooting locations on Sunday in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) -- Two people were killed and two others wounded in a string of drive-by shootings that took place within minutes of each other Sunday evening, police said.

The shootings began shortly after 5 p.m. (6 p.m. EDT) in a residential area of north St. Louis, said Adella Jones, spokeswoman for the St. Louis Police Department. A "high-powered assault weapon" was believed used in all three shootings, she said.

In the first attack, a man walking down the street was shot in the head and killed by two men in a brown station wagon, Jones said. The same car was seen minutes later in the shooting of another man around the corner.

The second victim was shot several times in the torso and was in critical condition, Jones said.

In the third attack, a man walking down the street in the same neighborhood was shot in the back of the head by men in the same brown station wagon.

"One of the bullets from that shooting went into a backyard, where a woman was sitting," Jones said. "She was grazed in the neck."

The man died, but the woman's injuries were minor, Jones said.

The car was ditched a few blocks away, and witnesses reported seeing two men get out and run away. "It is believed they are responsible," she said.

Police had no motive for the shootings, but they believed all three men were the intended targets. Jones said the shootings were under investigation.

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