KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- At least three people are dead after a shooting at a south Kansas City shopping center.

The attack took place Sunday afternoon just before 4 p.m. at the Ward Parkway Shopping Center.

A police spokesman said two people were shot about 3:30 p.m. Central time in the parking lot of the Ward Parkway Center. Then, said the spokesman, the gunman went inside the mall and fired more shots, wounding at least two people.

Police say the gunman was shot to death inside the mall. Officers fired shots, but it's not yet clear if he was killed by police.

Authorities said the violence began Sunday afternoon, when they went to a home to check on a woman whom relatives hadn't seen for days. The victim was found dead and her car was missing.

Police said the car was spotted later in the day by an officer, who pulled the driver over and was shot in the arm. The officer returned fire.

The car took off and was seen later at Ward Parkway Center. Police said the man fatally shot two people in the parking lot. Then, he went inside the mall and fired more shots, wounding at least two others.

Kansas City TV station KMBC reported that there are multiple victims and that there is a continuing search for possibly more victims inside the center. The Target store is on the north end of the Ward Parkway Shopping Center, and there was crime scene tape shown in live video from the scene.

Witnesses told the TV station that it was an "absolutely terrifying" experience. The shooter apparently started shooting in another part of the mall, then went to the Target store and continued shooting, KMBC reported. People said they fled from the store and others started hiding in the aisles.

Witness Travis Johnson told CNN that he was at the register when he heard people screaming and crying and saw them running toward the door. He said he then heard shooting.

Very little is known about the shooter, but all indications suggest that the attack was an unprovoked incident, KMBC reported.

Video from the scene showed several police cars and emergency vehicles outside the Ward Parkway Target store.