At least four people have died among 18 people people shot in a spate of shootings during an "extremely violent night" across the US city of Cincinnati, according to local media and police.

The bloodshed in the Ohio city of about 300,000 began when three people were shot at about midnight on Saturday (05:00 GMT) in the Walnut Hills neighbourhood.

Soon after, at about 12:30am (05:30 GMT) on Sunday, police were called to the Avondale area and found 21-year-old Antonio Blair with gunshot wounds. He was taken to University Hospital and died there, police said in a statement. Three other gunshot victims were also taken to the hospital.

Officers then responded to a report about gunshots in the Over-the-Rhine neighbourhood at 2:15am (07:15 GMT) where 10 people had been shot, police said. One man, 34-year-old Robert Rogers, died at the scene and another, 30-year-old Jaquiez Grantat, died at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Local news outlets reported the shootings took place within 60 to 90 minutes of each other.

Assistant Police Chief Paul Neudigate told reporters they "seem to be separate independent incidents but horrific and tragic". 

Police did not immediately provide details about the fourth fatal shooting but confirmed that it occurred on the city's West End, where television news reports indicated that one person was shot later on Sunday morning and was pronounced dead at the scene.

No suspect information was immediately available in any of the cases.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA