JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville's Sheriff John Rutherford said the Talleyrand shootings that injured six teenagers may have been a retaliation shooting in an ongoing dispute about a girl.

Police said the shootings took place at about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in what police described as related drive-by shootings in a Talleyrand neighborhood just northeast of downtown.

Four people were sprayed with bird shot from a shotgun as they sat on a porch at a home in the 1500 block of West 11th Street, then two more were hit in an exchange of gunfire between two vehicles at the intersection of Eighth and Lambert streets, about four blocks away, according to police.

Investigators said the two teens at Eighth and Lambert fired back, but it was not known what kind of gun they had or if the gunman was hit.

The sheriff said all of the victims shot are 15 to 17 years old.

"We think that these two are related. We believe now that the shooting at 1552 East 11th was in retaliation for a fight that took place two days earlier over a girl -- a fist fight -- and they came back apparently to settle the score," Rutherford said.

Four of the victims were transported to Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center by ambulance and two drove themselves to the hospital. Police said they were hit by birdshot and none of the victims were believed to have life-threatening injuries.

"The only thing I worry about is them taking him away in a body bag, that's all that matters," a woman who said her son was slightly injured in the shootings told Channel 4's Scott Johnson.

Police were interviewing victims and witnesses and gathering evidence at both scenes. They had no immediate description of the gunman or his vehicle.

"We do not know, at this point, motive -- any reasons why this occurred or what this was all about," Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokesman Ken Jefferson said. "We do believe all are known to each other."

Residents of the area told the local station that they are angry that so much violence occurs in their neighborhood just east of the Haines Street Expressway -- less than 1 mile from two elementary schools.

"It's really scary that you got your kids that's walking home from school and you don't know what's going to happen to them from one minute to the next," one resident said.

"Try living over here at nighttime. We don't have fireworks going off, we've got firearms going off," another told Johnson.

Sheriff John Rutherford visited the neighborhood late Tuesday to talk with the neighbors about their concerns.

"This makes it clear to the community that they have got to work with the police," Rutherford said. "Give us those gun-bounty tips to help get these guns off the street, that's the first thing. The second thing is, don't hang around with people who carry guns illegally."

Rutherford said that detectives got some good information from witnesses to the shootings, but they were not getting much cooperation from the victims.

Rutherford urged anyone with information about this shooting or other crimes to call Crimestoppers at 866-845-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible to collect a reward of up to $1,000.