WASHINGTON -- Two men were killed and another was critically injured in a shooting in the US capital early Saturday, local police said.

The shooting happened about two blocks from the busy intersection of 18th Street and Columbia Road NW at around 1:00 am local time, Pamela Smith, acting police chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, told local media.

"Another act of senseless violence has occurred in this area where two individuals have lost their lives and another has been transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries," said Smith.

No further details about the shooting were available at the moment.