Gunfire rang out in downtown Birmingham early Monday, sending two men to the hospital.

The shooting happened before 2:30 a.m. on Third Avenue North, near Interstate 65.

Lt. Ron Harless said two men were in a vehicle when they were shot. They drove about a block before stopping near the parking lot of the Marathon convenience store at 11th Street and Third Avenue North.

Skids marks showed where they left Third Avenue and drove to where they stopped.

One of the men sustained life-threatening injuries. Police radios indicated he was unresponsive when first responders arrived.

Harless said the second man’s injured are not believed to be life-threatening.

Officers cordoned off a large portion of the surrounding area while they investigated.

Harless said officers were already in the area investigating street racing and exhibition driving when someone flagged them down and told them someone had been shot. He said he did not know whether the shooting was connected to exhibition driving.