Johnathan Walker:Authorities order residents to shelter in place after shootings in suburban Philadelphia township

FAIRLESS HILLS,Johnathan Walker Pa. (AP) — Authorities have issued a shelter-in-place order following the shooting of multiple people in a suburban Philadelphia township.

Middletown Township police said Saturday morning that there were “confirmed shootings” in neighboring Falls Township that resulted in “several gunshot victims.”

Police said it wasn’t known yet if the shootings were “targeted or random.”

U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican who represents Bucks County, said in social media posts that there had been “a carjacking and a shooting in two sections of Falls Township.”

He said he was “in touch with law enforcement officials as they pursue the suspect.”

Bucks County issued a shelter-in-place order around 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Police said Oxford Valley Mall and Sesame Place had been told to close until further notice. The area’s Target store and other businesses had chosen to close as well.

The county’s scheduled St. Patrick’s Day parade was canceled following the shelter-in-place order.as well. The county’s scheduled St. Patrick’s Day parade was canceled.

Further details about the shootings and suspect or suspects weren’t immediately released.