Seven people were shot during a rap album release party at Mr. G's Entertainment Center in the Gresham neighborhood on the South Side early Thursday morning, authorities say.

At least one gunman opened fire after a fight broke out shortly after 1 a.m. as the party at the club at 87th Street and Ashland Avenue was winding down, according to Police News Affairs Officer Hector Alfaro. It wasn't clear if any of the wounded were the shooters, he said.

Six of those shot went to hospitals on their own, police said.

Three people showed up at Advocate Christ Medical Center: A 19-year-old woman, a 21-year-old man and a 23-year-old man. A man in his 20s was taken to Holy Cross Hospital and another man, 21, showed up there on his own.  Two others, a 26-year-old man and a 36-year-old man, went to Little Company of Mary Hospital.
Police said hundreds of people were inside the club when a chair was thrown and a security guard heard shots, according to police, citing preliminary information. The crowd panicked and people started running from the club, police said.
Responding officers heard people shouting "They're shooting!" and "I'm shot," police said. The officers discovered several patrons shot at the club.


Police said the shooting appeared to be gang related, but it wasn't clear what led to the fight and shooting.
The camera inside the club wasn't working, and detectives planned on checking footage from a surveillance camera across the street at a phone store, police said.

Rappers Lil' Mouse and King Samson had been performing at the club, according to Chicago police and a patron.

King Samson, on a Twitter account that appears to be his, said he would be appearing at Mr. G's Wednesday night.  Calls to numbers listed for King Samson and Lil' Mouse weren't returned early Thursday morning.

Lil' Mouse received national media attention over the summer when, at age 13, he released a music video that featured people waving guns at the camera. The video has gotten 2.9 million views on YouTube.