This handout image shows police at the scene of a shooting in Tulare, California. AFP

Six people were killed in a shooting in central California in the US, local media reported.

Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux linked the killings to the illegal drug trade, saying deputies had conducted a drug-related search warrant at the same home last week.

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"We believe this was a message being sent," Boudreaux told reporters at the scene. "We believe that this was a targeted family."

Two suspects remained at large, he said.

Sheriff Mike Boudreaux speaks to the media near the scene of a fatal shooting in Visalia, California. AP

Authorities responded early on Monday after multiple shots were heard. Some victims were found in the street while others were discovered in the house.

One victim was alive and wounded when authorities arrived but later died at a hospital, Boudreaux said.

The bodies of the infant and 17-year-old mother were located in a ditch outside the home, Boudreaux later told the Los Angeles Times. Both had gunshot wounds to the head.

The Sheriff's Office did not give details in the release. The agency only said that it is investigating the shooting and will update the shooting after they receive more information.

The KFSN-TV report said that deputies immediately noticed two victims dead in the street and then a third in the doorway of the home after they arrived at the spot.

Deputies found six victims in total. Five of them were declared dead at the scene. Another died at the hospital, according to the report.

Authorities believe there are at least two suspects at this time. They do not believe this was a random act and that there is a gang connection, the report added.