Washington (dpa) - Six people were killed in a shooting at a retirement home in the city of Carthage in the US state of North Carolina, CNN reported Sunday.

Three more people, including a police officer, were injured in the shooting, local broadcasters reported, quoting the chief of the Carthage police.

The shooter was also wounded and had been taken to a hospital.

The shooter, a male, entered the facility in the morning and opened fire.

The retirement home houses about 90 people with special needs, many suffering from Alzheimer's. No motives for the attack were known. A press conference was planned for later in the day.

Carthage is about 100 kilometres from Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina.