Washington, Jun 18 (IANS): One person was killed and 12 others were injured in a series of shootings in several places in the Phoenix metropolitan area in the US state of Arizona, police said, adding that the suspect has been arrested.

According to Peoria Police Department, which led the investigation, the shootings took place on Thursday at eight locations throughout the West Valley cities in the Phoenix metropolitan area and lasted over an hour, reports Xinhua news agency.

Four of the 13 victims injured in the incidents were struck by a bullet and nine others were injured but not shot, Brandon Sheffert, a spokesperson for Peoria Police Department said in a briefing.

He said that the suspect was found during a traffic stop in the city of Surprise, where the suspect surrendered to policemen without incident.

So far, police was still investigating the suspect's motive.

A spokesperson for Banner Health told local ABC15 news channel that they received a total of nine patients at three of their hospitals related to the shootings, which they referred to as a drive-by shooting incident.

Both Peoria and Surprise are major suburbs of Phoenix.

The two cities are 15 km apart.