Six young people were shot to death early Saturday in Seattle at a home, apparently at a party, and the alleged gunman committed suicide when confronted by police, authorities said.

Three other victims were taken to a hospital after the shootings in the Capitol Hill neighborhood east of downtown, said US police spokesman Rich Pruitt. Two of the three were in critical condition, he said.

"It's one of the largest crime scenes the city has ever had," said Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske.

He said the victims' bodies were found in several places in the house.

Police believe the shooting happened at a party and the dead were all in their early 20s, authorities said. At least a dozen other people were in the house at the time, officials said.

Kerlikowske said an officer in the neighborhood heard shots fired at just after 7 a.m. When Officer Steve Leonard reached the scene, he found one person staggering out of the house with a gunshot wound.

The officer confronted another man who emerged with a shotgun, telling him several times to put the weapon down, Kerlikowske said. The man turned the gun on himself and fired a fatal shot, he said.

Officers then found the other victims inside the home, he said.

They did not believe the gunman lived in the area.

Kerlikowske said police found a variety of other guns at and near the scene.

William Lowe, 59, who lives across the street, said he heard six shots shortly after his alarm went off and looked out in time to see people scattering from the home, some with faces painted and hair dyed.

Lowe said he saw the man with the shotgun put the barrel in his mouth and fire.

Aaron Hoyle, 25, of Renton, said about five people in or around their 20s lived in the house and that some were promoters of warehouse parties. Hoyle hadn't been to the home in about three months, but heard about the shooting on the news and came to see if his friends were all right. By late morning, he still didn't know.