Police in Oklahoma have arrested two suspects in shootings that left three people dead and two more critically wounded in the Tulsa area.
A Tulsa police spokesman said two white men were arrested at a house just north of Tulsa and were expected to face three charges of first-degree murder and two counts of shooting with intent to kill.
Police had said previously that they were searching for a white man driving a white pickup, which was spotted in the area of three of the shootings.
Authorities believed the shootings in a predominantly black neighbourhood were linked because they happened around the same time and all five victims were out walking when they were shot.
At least two dozen police officers were called to investigate the case, along with the FBI and US Marshals Service.
The police spokesman said the arrests followed an anonymous tip received yesterday but he declined to specify what that tip was.
"The whole race issue, the hate crime issue, there's a very logical theory that would say that's what it could be, but I'm a police officer, I've got to go by the evidence," Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan said earlier, adding that no racial slurs had been used by the gunman.
"It’s just not time for us to say that," Mr Jordan said. "Right now I'm worried about more of my citizens being murdered."
Tulsa City Councilman Jack Henderson, who represents the district in which the shootings took place, said members of the community were anxious knowing a gunman was at large.
"People are fearful," Mr Henderson said. "They are afraid they can't walk down the street."
He said witnesses told police a suspect drove through the neighbourhood at about 1am on Friday, stopping several people on the street and asking for directions.
The pedestrians spoke briefly with the man but began walking away after they could not help him with the directions, Mr Henderson said.
The driver then shot at them, killing one, and sped away, he said.
A witness told police that they were sitting in front of a house when a man pulled up in a white Chevrolet pickup truck with rust spots on the hood and asked for directions.
After a brief exchange, the suspect produced a handgun and fired, striking two people before driving off, police said.
