Several people were killed and others were injured in a shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, on Tuesday night, and the shooter is dead, Chesapeake police said.

At 10:12 p.m., police responded to a report of a shooting inside a Walmart, public information officer Leo Kosinski said in a media briefing, adding that "less than 10" people were dead but declining to give the exact number.

It was not clear whether the shooter, who has not been identified, died of self-inflicted injuries. Kosinski said no shots were fired at police "to his knowledge".

"Chesapeake Police confirm an active shooter incident with fatalities at the Walmart on Sam's Circle. The shooter is deceased," the City of Chesapeake said.

Walmart said in a statement early Wednesday that it was "shocked" at the incident at its Chesapeake store, and that it was working closely with law enforcement.

A spokesperson for Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, which has the area’s top trauma center, told local television station WAVY that five patients were being treated there.

The police department did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.