A gunman killed two people and wounded at least two more in a shooting at a crowded shopping centre in Missouri, US police say.

The incident at the Ward Parkway Centre in Kansas City took place just before 1600 (1900 GMT) on Sunday.

The gunman shot two people dead in the centre's car park, before wounding two others inside the main building.

Police later shot and killed the assailant, whose identity was not immediately released.

Police were also investigating whether the shooting was connected to two incidents earlier in the day.

An elderly woman was found dead at a house not far from the shopping centre and a police officer who stopped a man driving the dead woman's car was later shot in the arm.

'Mass chaos'

The shooting, at one of Kansas City's busiest shopping centres, took place around 15 minutes after the police officer was shot.

The gunman shot two people in the car park before heading inside the centre, which was packed with shoppers.

"It was just mass chaos, as you can imagine, on a Sunday in a crowded mall," police spokesman Tony Sanders said.

The gunfire sent terrified shoppers scrambling for cover.

"It sounded like maybe firecrackers at first but then they got louder and louder and louder, and it sounded like someone shooting a gun," shop worker Cassie Bradshaw said.

At least two people were injured inside the shopping centre before police shot the gunman.

"Everybody was leaving the mall when the officers ran inside," Mr Sanders said. "They confronted the man and after confronting him, shot and killed him."

Police believe the chain of events began earlier on Sunday when they found the body of a woman, who had been missing for several days, in a house in Kansas City.

After discovering that the woman's car was missing, police put out a description of the vehicle.

The car was spotted later on Sunday by a policeman, who was shot in the arm when he pulled the driver over, police said.

The policeman returned fire but the driver fled.

Local police were notified about the incident and minutes later were called to the shopping centre after reports of shootings there.

PHOTO CAPTION

Kansas City, Mo. police close down the parking lot at Ward Parkway shopping center in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, April 29, 2007.m (AP)

BBC