UPDATE 1:56 p.m.: More shots have rung out in the area where police are searching for Kurt Myers, the suspected gunman who is considered "armed and dangerous." Reports of shots fired were received by police around 1:30 p.m., according to the Utica Observer-Dispatch.

UPDATE 12:32 p.m.: The suspect has been identified as Kurt Myers, WKTV reports. The Utica NBC affiliate said he is "still on the loose."

UPDATE 11:56 a.m.: A SWAT team and a police helicopter swarmed Freddy's Jewelers in Herkimer, N.Y., where they believe the suspect may be holed up, the Utica Observer-Dispatch reported. A single gunman is believed to be responsible for both shootings. There were reports that the shooter was an employee at Gaffey's. The suspect was described as a slender white man in his 50s or 60s, about 5-foot-11, with white hair and a white beard. He was last seen weaing a flannel shirt.

Four people were shot and killed at two upstate New York businesses Wednesday morning, according to the New York State Police.

Two people were killed at Gaffey’s Car Wash in Herkimer.

Shots were also fired at John’s Barber Shop in Mohawk, N.Y., where two people were killed and four people were shot at, State Police told WKTV.

Around the same time, reports of an explosion or a fire were received by authorities in Mohawk. WKTV said it was unable to confirm the reports, which included people wounded.

The two upstate New York towns are about two miles apart and about 15 miles southeast of Utica.

Authorities were still searching for the shooter, who was believed to have fled in a red Jeep with a black top, WKTV reported.

The vehicle was spotted around 10 a.m. in Herkimer, but the suspect was not in the car.

About an hour later, police descended on an apartment in Herkimer with their guns drawn, witnesses told the Utica television station.

The fatal shootings prompted schools in and around Herkimer to be put under lockdown.

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