How are these two events in this passage related? In April, a group of British soldiers had been searching for hidden weapons in the Massachusetts countryside, and some American colonists had confronted them. Nobody knows exactly how it started, but they began shooting at each other. People on both sides were killed. This led to several more battles.

The Revolutionary War had begun.

The shootout in Massachusetts happened in the same place as the other battles.

The shootout in Massachusetts helped cause the Revolutionary War.

The shootout in Massachusetts happened at the same time as the Revolutionary War.