Gunman opens fire in Tuscaloosa, 17 wounded

Last Updated 9:18 a.m. ET

(CBS/AP) TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Seventeen people were wounded when a gunman opened fire outside a crowded bar at a downtown square in Tuscaloosa, the home of the University of Alabama.

Tuscaloosa Police Chief Steve Anderson told The Associated Press that the gunman fired first through a window of The Copper Top, then shot at people outside as they fled the bar. He said the gunman never went inside during the assault early Tuesday.

Hospital spokesman Brad Fisher said 17 people were being treated at DCH Regional Medical Center

Four of the victims have been admitted to the hospital, and two of them were receiving critical care, Fisher said. It wasn't immediately known whether all the injuries were from gunfire, he said.

Riley Dunn, a University of Alabama senior who was injured in the shooting, estimated that there were 80 to 90 people in the area at the time, near a bar in the area of Temerson Square.

Eyewitnesses told CBS Affiliate WIAT that the Copper Top bar was hosting its weekly pool tournament when gunfire broke out.

Dunn said there was one gunshot, then about 20 seconds later "that's when he really started firing them off," and everyone scattered.

Dunn, who was shot in the leg, told WIAT, said he didn't see the gunman shooting. "All we seen was sparks and people ducking and the glass busting," he said. "I felt something hit me. We all took off and sort of hid."

Several patrons chased after the shooter.

Tuscaloosa police have called a news conference for 10 a.m. Tuesday to release more details of the shootings.

The Tuscaloosa Police Department posted a picture of the suspect on its Facebook and Twitter pages, and will hold a press conference at 10 a.m.