Nine people were killed in the latest spite of gun violence in three American cities, wounding two dozen more on Saturday night and Sunday morning, in the wake of three mass shootings that have rattled the United States.

In Philadelphia, a confrontation between two men escalated into a gunfight that sprayed bullets into a crowded bar and restaurant district, killing three people, wounding 12, and setting off panic as people tried to flee, police said.

The brazen nature of the Philadelphia shooting left officials aghast. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney called it "horrendous, despicable and senseless," while Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said, "We're absolutely devastated."

A police officer observed the other shooter firing into the crowd and fired at him. The shooter dropped his gun, as police believe he was struck by the officer, but he escaped through the crowd.

A shooting near a Tennessee nightclub early Sunday led to three deaths and 14 people suffering gunshot wounds and other injuries, police said.

Fourteen people were hit by gunfire and three were hit by vehicles while trying to flee the scene, according to Chattanooga Police Chief Celeste Murphy. Two people died from gunshot wounds and one person died after being hit by a vehicle. Sixteen of the victims were adults and one was a juvenile and several remained in critical condition, she said.

Chattanooga Police Chief Celeste Murphy appealed for the public's help, asking any witnesses to call a tip line.

In Michigan, Saginaw police reported they were called to a scene where two men were pronounced dead and one woman was transported to hospital where she died of her wounds.

Two other men were being treated for gunshot wounds.

The latest incidents of gun violence struck as communities in three other cities are still grieving from massacres that killed 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York; 21 victims at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas; and four people at a medical building in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Gun safety advocates are pushing the U.S. government to take stronger measures to curb gun violence.

There have been at least 240 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research group. It defines a mass shooting as one in which at least four people are shot, excluding the shooter.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday called on Congress to ban assault weapons, expand background checks and implement other gun control measures to address the string of mass shootings.

Chris Murphy, the lead Democratic U.S. senator working on bipartisan gun safety talks, said on Sunday he thinks a package including investments in mental health and school safety and some changes to gun laws can pass Congress.
-Ap/Reuters