MIAMI, Fla. -- Miami police are looking for three gunmen after a dozen people were shot early Monday morning on the streets of Miami.

Witnesses said the shooting happened during a birthday party at a home on Northwest Fifth Avenue and Seventh Street in Overtown.

Witnesses said about 300 people, mostly teenagers, were present at the time of the shooting.

Miami police said three gunmen dressed all in black walked up to the block party and started firing guns. Bullets went flying through the neighborhood just before 1 a.m., sending people ducking for cover, police said.

"It sounded like six different guns going off at one time," said witness Tia Hudson. "It's real sad. It's scary. I saw my life cross before me."

"We just heard firecrackers popping, and everybody just started shooting from every corner," a witness told Local 10.

According to police, 12 people were shot and a woman was struck by a car while trying to get away from the scene. Ten of the victims were transported by rescuers to Jackson Memorial Hospital, and friends drove two others.

The large crime scene extended for a three-block radius, and additional paramedics were sent for backup.

"We dispatched 12 trucks and two trucks just to scour the area, just to see if there were any other victims," said Lt. Ignatius Carrol of Miami Fire Rescue.

A large perimeter was still set up on Monday afternoon. Police said the gunmen ran away from the initial scene and might have been shooting back and forth the entire time.

Motive For Shootings Unknown

The motive behind the shootings remains unclear. Miami Police Chief John Timoney said the home where the shootings happened is a property of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Although there is a lot of crime in the surrounding Overtown area, police are not often called to that specific neighborhood, he said.

"From the casings that we've gathered so far, it looks like at least one AK-47, two 9-mm pistols, but maybe more. We don't know yet. These three individuals opened up on the crowd," Timoney said.

"We don't know this for a fact, but there could be even close to 100 casings that are on the floor. I don't need to tell you that when you put that many bullets in the air, you have a very good possibility that you're going to hit people, and unfortunately even worse, you're going to kill people," said Miami Mayor Manny Diaz.

Timoney said investigators believe the gunmen had one intended target, who was not one of the 12 people shot. He is being questioned by police.

Monday morning was the second time in recent months a gunman opened fire with an automatic weapon on a large crowd. On Jan. 9, several people were shot on a Liberty City street corner. Two teenagers died in that shooting, and no arrests have been made.

“Bottom line here, though, is the availability of these high-powered weapons that shoot not just the intended target but anybody within range, and that’s the problem when you have that many bullets flying through the air," Timoney said.

Shooting Victims Undergo Surgery

All of the victims of the shootings were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where many spent Monday morning in surgery.

"It's a madhouse. It's terrible in there," said Larry Coleman, the uncle of one of the victims.

Outside the hospital, family members and friends of the victims gathered, waiting and hoping for good news.

"My brother's in there," said Laura Frederick, who said her brother was shot in the abdomen. "It's really scary to me. I've been crying. I've been here since 1 o'clock. It's been going crazy, but he's good now. He went through surgery. Thank God that my brother's OK now."

Some of the victims will survive, while some might not. Coleman said his niece, Michelle Coleman, will most likely die of multiple gunshot wounds.

"Three times -- liver, kidney and some part of the heart," Larry Coleman said.

Those who know Michelle Coleman said she is a college student who came home from school to help her mother financially and who is now struggling to stay alive. She was one of two victims still in critical condition Monday afternoon.

"She was at the wrong place at the wrong time," said her other uncle, Jerome Wiley.

No arrests have been made. Anyone with information is urged to call the City of Miami Police Department’s Homicide Unit at 305-579-6530 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.