Shootings in two locations in Minneapolis several hours apart left two people dead and another wounded, officials said Friday.

The first killing occurred about 8:50 p.m. Thursday in the 2400 block of 18th Avenue S., police said.

Officers responded to the scene and found a man wounded by gunfire, according to police. Emergency medical personnel took him to HCMC, where he died. The man was identified as Roberto Julian Manzano-Gomez, 31, of Minneapolis.

"Preliminary information shows that shots were fired at close range," and three or four people ran from the scene, according to a statement from police. No arrests had been made as of Friday evening.

"This shooting, which occurred at close range, is especially troubling," Police Chief Brian O'Hara said in the statement.

The second killing occurred about 1:45 a.m. Friday and involved gunfire from outside that killed a man and wounded a woman inside a home near Theodore Wirth Parkway in the 2500 block of 26th Avenue N., police said.

The man was identified Friday night as Jalen Mathis Easton, 23, of Brooklyn Park, by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office. Friends and family members expressed their grief on social media and wrote about Easton's love of basketball.

The Star Tribune was unable to immediately reach members of his family Friday night.

The woman, also in her 20s, was taken by emergency medical responders to HCMC with noncritical wounds, police added.

As of Friday night, police had not made any arrests in this shooting. O'Hara said there was no indication that the two shootings are connected.

"This is the second homicide in less than [six] hours, and it also appears to be targeted," O'Hara said in the statement. "We cannot stand by and let this continue."

There have been seven homicides in Minneapolis so far this year, according to a Star Tribune database. That compares to five in the city at this time last year.

Police ask that anyone with information about either shooting to contact them at policetips@minneapolismn.gov or 612-673-5845. Anonymous tips can be provided to CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or www.CrimeStoppersMN.org. Information resulting in an arrest and conviction could lead to a reward.