Gunfire erupted outside UAB Hospital’s emergency room early Monday.

According to authorities and witnesses, a champagne-colored Chevrolet Tahoe pulled up to the hospital entrance seeking help for gunshot victims inside. That shooting is believed to have taken place following an altercation at a Birmingham club.

When the SUV got to UAB – about 2:17 a.m. – another vehicle pulled up and opened fire on the Tahoe. Witnesses said they heard multiple shots fired, describing the sounds as “iron pipes hitting.”

The gunfire hit a UAB police vehicle and a hospital window.

A UAB officer on the scene would only say “several” people were wounded.

Sources say all of those wounded were struck before they arrived at the hospital. The preliminary information was that two of those victims died and three others were injured.

Birmingham and UAB police officers shut down the area surrounding the emergency room.

UAB officials referred all additional questions to Birmingham police. Repeated efforts to reach police for comment were unsuccessful.

Dozens of friends and family members were outside of the emergency room. They, too, said they’d been unable to get information about what happened.

About 5:30 a.m., family members of one of the victims – a female – became visibly distraught when it appears they were told their loved one had died.

This story will be updated if more information becomes available.