Three people died and 15 others were injured after an altercation broke out at a park in thedesert city of Las Cruces, New Mexico, police said.

Police and fire crews arrived at just after 10 pm on Friday onto a chaotic scene at the city’s Young Park, where an unauthorised car show had drawn about 200 people, police said during a news conference. Gunshot victims ranging in age from 16 to 36 were treated on the scene or sent to area hospitals. Between 50 and 60 shell casings all from handguns, were found scattered across a wide swath of the large park, Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story said, suggesting multiple shooters and multiple weapons within two groups whose “ill will” toward each other police believe led to the shootings. Several others were injured in the crossfire, he said.

Those who died were two 19-year-old men and a 16-year-old boy. Their names and those of the other

victims were not yet being released. Local police were being assisted in

their investigation by New Mexico State Police, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and the

federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Las Cruces Fire Chief Michael Daniels said seven patients were treated at the scene, including two who died, and 11 others were sent to three local hospitals or to University Medical Center of El Paso, the regional trauma centre. By Saturday, seven of the surviving victims were in El Paso, while four others had been treated and released and the four remaining victims’ conditions were not known, he said.

Authorities continued to solicit videos and other tips from those in attendance as they worked to identify a suspect or suspects who carried out the attack.

“This horrendous, senseless act is a stark reminder of the blatant disregard people in New Mexico have for the rule of law and order,” Story said, vowing about the perpetrators to “find each and every one of them, and we will. We will hold them accountable to the criminal justice system.”

Story acknowledged that illegal car shows at Young Park are not an uncommon occurrence and that the police presence has been larger in the past. He said that understaffing within the police department meant that he had “no units available for most of the night” on Friday.