An initial report of the event in the parking lot outside a chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came in late on Wednesday, a police spokesperson said, adding that the situation was still fluid.
"There was a funeral taking place at the church," Glen Mills, the spokesperson, told reporters. "Out in the parking lot, there was some sort of altercation took and that's when shots were fired."
From at least eight victims, two died of their injuries, the police said, while three of the survivors were critical and the medical condition of the rest was not known.
Police have launched a manhunt for the suspects, they added, while the FBI said it was offering assistance.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Michelle Nichols and Clarence Fernandez)
The Washington DC Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, during the Mormon temple's first open house in nearly 50 years in Kensington, Maryland, USA, 28 April 2022. Public visitation will last through 11 June, after which only members of the Mormon faith may enter. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO