Stabbing at US homeless shelter leaves 11 hurt: police

Eleven people have been taken to hospital and a man is in custody following a report of multiple stabbing victims at a men's homeless shelter in the US city of Salem in Oregon, police say.

Police were called out about 7.15pm on Sunday to the Union Gospel Mission, Angela Hedrick of the Salem Police Department said in a statement.

She said the victims suffered "varying types of injuries" and that their status was unknown.

Hedrick released no more details as detectives investigate.

Executive director Craig Smith told NBC News that the attacker was new to the mission, having spent Saturday night there, and was about to check in for a second night when he got into a fight.

"Something ... set him off, and he evidently had a knife in his bag," Smith said.

The altercation happened right before the man would have handed over his belongings to staff and at least one staffer, who was working the mission's check-in desk, was injured in the attack, Smith said.

Messages seeking comment were left with the hospital and at the mission, where up to 150 homeless men seek refuge each night, according to its website.