Gunfire erupted at an apartment complex in a city south of Seattle and five people were shot to death, including a suspect who was shot by arriving officers, police said early Monday.

Officers responding to an emergency call at 9:30 p.m. Sunday at the apartments in Federal Way, found two injured men on the ground in a parking lot.

Federal Way police spokeswoman Cathy Schrock said one of the men reached for a gun as police moved in to assist the two.

At that point, other officers opened fire. The suspect died but police said it wasn't immediately clear if it was from their gunfire.

The other man one the ground and a third man in the parking lot were found dead.

In a search of the complex, police found a fourth man dead in one apartment and a slain woman in another unit.

Schrock said police were trying to determine if the woman was accidentally hit by gunfire.

There was no immediate word what set off the shooting.

After police flooded the scene and carried out searches of the area, authorities said they did not think another shooter was on the loose or that there was an immediate threat to the public.

There were no reports of any officers being injured, and the names of the five people who were killed were not immediately available.