At least 14 people have been killed and six others wounded when a group of heavily armed men stormed a dance club in the north-eastern Brazilian city of Fortaleza, local authorities confirmed.
Three cars of attackers swooped in on the venue, located on the outskirts of Fortaleza, during the early hours of Saturday morning.
Two minors are among the dead and several people were taken to hospital, including a 12-year-old boy, says a BBC report.
The attackers were part of a criminal gang involved in drug trafficking, reports Xinhua citing local media.
Locals posted pictures on social media networks which showed at least 12 bodies were lying on the ground, most of them women.
Local police said they had never seen such a brutal scene of carnage.
Bullet marks can be seen on the walls of the club "Forro do Gago", nearby houses and vehicles parked around. Even though it rained Saturday, the club was stained with blood.
Local police said that the shooting was "well planned" and the agents were searching for suspects with a helicopter overseeing the security situation in the region.
Police were investigating whether the killings were part of an ongoing turf war between two drug gangs.
The state of Ceara, with Fortaleza as its capital, registered a record number of homicides in 2017, according to state governor Camilo Santana, who said earlier that some 82 percent of the homicides were results of conflict between drug gangs over territory control.