Two people were killed and six others were injured Saturday night in Ottawa in a shooting in the parking lot of a wedding hall where two weddings were being held, police said, not ruling out either scenario.

“I heard repeated shots, screams, then there was a pause before 15 or 16 more gunshots were heard,” Niko, 28, who did not want to give his last name, told AFP.

Two men, ages 26 and 29, who lived in Toronto, died, police in Ottawa said. Among the six injured are US citizens, he added, clarifying that their lives are not in danger.

The shots were heard at 22:21 [τοπική ώρα] in the parking lot of the center in the southern part of the city where two wedding ceremonies were taking place at the same time.

There was “chaos”, “people were running away in all directions”, said the eyewitness, adding that many police officers quickly arrived on the scene.

Police have “no evidence” to indicate or confirm that this was a hate crime, “linked to race or religious beliefs,” Inspector Martin Grew told AFP.

“But we do not exclude this possibility”, he added.

Canadian cities have experienced an alarming increase in violent incidents involving the use of weapons in recent years: they are “increasingly frequent”, the Canadian government finds.

Since 2009, the country has seen an 81% increase in violent crimes involving firearms.