SYDNEY -- Two teenagers have been seriously injured in a shooting in the inner suburbs of Melbourne in Australia's state of Victoria on early Friday morning.

Victorian police said in a statement on Friday morning that shots were fired in Collingwood, about 3 kilometers northeast of Melbourne's central business district, at 1 am local time on Friday.

Two boys, aged 15 and 17, were found with gunshot wounds a short time later.

The pair were taken to a nearby hospital with serious injuries.

It is understood a large group of people were fighting on Hoddle Street prior to the shooting, said the police. Detectives believe the incident was a targeted attack.