A gunman opened fire at a gun store in Metairie, La., on Saturday, killing two people before others returned fire, killing him, the authorities said.

Two other people were injured and in stable condition after the shooting at the Jefferson Gun Outlet, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office said.

The sheriff’s office said the shooting happened just before 3 p.m. when a gunman fatally shot two people inside the store. The gunman was then shot and killed by people either inside the store or in the parking lot outside, said Joseph P. Lopinto, the sheriff for Jefferson Parish.

“I have multiple shooters here at this location that were either customers, employees or individuals here at the location itself, and we’re trying to put it all together and piece it together with what we have in this developing scene,” Sheriff Lopinto said at a news conference.

The sheriff’s office said it was investigating what might have set off the initial shooting. The names of the three people who were killed were not released.

Bob Jean, the owner of the nearby Airline Skate Center, described the Jefferson Gun Outlet as a “very nice, clean place” and said that his skating rink had not had to lock down after the shooting. “The cops got everything under control,” he said.

He said the shooting was as anomaly in that section of Metairie, which is just outside New Orleans.

“We have very little crime in this entire area,” Mr. Jean said. “This is the first incident. It’s a sign of the times, unfortunately.”

The Jefferson Gun Outlet says on its website that it features an indoor shooting range and a retail store with hundreds of new and used firearms, as well as a large selection of shooting accessories, personal defense items and reloading supplies.

The retail store, it says, is staffed by longtime shooting enthusiasts and N.R.A. instructors, most of whom have backgrounds in the military and law enforcement. The store also supplies law enforcement officials with guns and accessories, such as duty holsters, batons and gloves.

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