Two mass shootings in the United States have claimed the lives of 14 people in the space of a few hours, local police forces have confirmed.

Five people were shot dead at a home in Douglas, Georgia, on Friday evening, the city’s police department said on Saturday.

Officers from the Douglas Police Department were called out late on Friday to a report that shots had been fired. Five people with gunshot wounds were all pronounced dead.

Also on Friday evening, a further nine people were killed in Erie, Pennsylvania, in what was described as a “tragic mass shooting”.

Police said two children and a pregnant woman were among those who died.

The city of Erie said in a statement all nine deaths, including that of the assailant, occurred before officers arrived at the scene, with no additional shots fired after that.

They had been alerted via ShotSpotter, a controversial detection system that uses artificial intelligence and a network of microphones to identify possible gunshots.