One fan was killed and at least three others were wounded in a shooting inside a packed music venue in Manhattan as rapper TI was about to perform, according to reports on Thursday (26 May).

The Irving Plaza concert hall, near Union Square in Manhattan, erupted in pandemonium and screaming as shots suddenly rang out and panicked concert-goers fled.

"Gunshots just went off at the TI concert," tweeted fan @MarkyGeezy, who took video of the chaotic scene. "I've never been so scared in my life."

A 26-year-old woman was struck in the leg. Two men - one shot in the chest, the other in the abdomen - were critically injured and rushed to a nearby hospital. One was declared dead at hospital.

The condition of the fourth victim could not immediately be ascertained.

By midnight Wednesday (25 May), about two hours after the shooting, the gunman or gunmen had not yet been apprehended, CBS News reported, as police cordoned off several blocks around Irving Plaza.

It was not immediately known what may have led to the shootings. At least 1,000 people were at Irving Plaza for the rap concert.

The shooting happened during a quarrel in the green room area at the venue, Chief of Manhattan South Detectives William Aubry said at a news conference.

TI was about to go on, but two other performers — Maino and Uncle Murda — were on the stage during the gunfire, Aubry said.

The performance was "about to go on," said one woman. "We saw two people up on the VIP [area] arguing, and then everybody started running because they heard the shots. It was terrifying. We just kept running with everybody else because they were running for their lives, so we just started running."

A man added: "We had no idea where it was coming from, so we just were running out for the exit, you know, anywhere we possibly could."

TI is a hip-hop star hailing from Atlanta. In 2006, shots fired at another show he performed at in Cincinnati killed his friend and assistant, Philant Johnson.