At least 12 people have been shot dead and another 41 held hostage at a centre providing aid to immigrants in the US state of New York, US media reports say.

Two men were led away in handcuffs from the incident  at the American Civic Association building, used to provide services to immigrants, in Binghamton on Friday, the reports said.

Other reports said that the body of the man believed to have carried out the shootings was also found inside the building.

A number of people escaped after a man reportedly entered the building in Binghamton, about 240 km northwest of New York City, and began shooting.

Reports said that some people had been hiding in the basement and others in a cupboard.

"About 15 or so employees of the Civic Association came out crying with their hands behind their heads and they were escorted by the police and they took them to ambulances and took them away," a female witness told the local WNBF radio station.

Surrounding streets and a nearby high school have been closed by the police.

Shooting incidents have become increasingly common in the US, where guns are widely available and the rights to own them are fiercely debated.

In 2007, a student went on a gun rampage killing 32 people at Virginia Tech University, in Blacksburg, Virginia.