(Adds details on injuries, witness quote)

HOUSTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Several people in the vicinity of a Houston strip mall were injured by a shooter who fired upon vehicles on Monday, and the suspect was shot by police officers, authorities in the Texas city said.

At least seven people were injured, local media reports said.

Several of the victims suffered gunshot wounds to their extremities and a couple of the injuries were more serious, a fire department spokesman told local media. All of the victims were inside their vehicles when they were shot, he said.

"At this time, the shooting scene is believed to be contained," the city said on its emergency page.

People who were shot by the suspect were transported to area hospitals and the exact extent of their injuries was not yet known, Houston police said.

"I do not know if he's dead or not," Fire Department spokesman Richard Mann told media about the shooter. "I know that he's been neutralized and is no longer a threat."

A police bomb squad was dispatched to the area to investigate a vehicle, Fox 26 TV reported, adding a "shelter in place" order was issued for the area.

"I am just hearing the bullets literally whiz by my window," an unidentified woman who witnessed the shooting told the station as she stood next to a car with two bullet holes in the windshield.

Live video streams showed the presence of numerous police cars and ambulances in the area. There were also a few vehicles seen with bullet holes.

(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas and the Houston bureau; Additional reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Bernadette Baum) ((jon.herskovitz@thomsonreuters.com; +1 512 285-0178; Reuters Messaging: jon.herskovitz.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))