Gang war fears renewed by shots fired at home

The home of a Winnipeg gang member was among two houses that were shot at this week, prompting nearby residents to worry that a biker gang war could erupt in their neighbourhood.

Around 10:20 p.m. CT on Tuesday, bullets started flying on a residential street in the Maples, a suburban part of the city. Residents on the street said they heard gunshots that night.

CBC News has learned that a full-patch member of the Rock Machine biker gang lives in the house that was targeted. A neighbouring house was also riddled with bullets.

Police are looking for a male suspect between the ages of 16 and 20, about five feet five inchesin height with a thin build. He was wearing all black clothing and a black neckwarmer over his face, according to police.

"Shots fired at a housewhere two houses are hitby an individual dressed in black with their face covered suggests some, you know, forethought," Winnipeg police Const. Rob Carver told reporters on Wednesday.

"It's not a kid driving around going, 'Gee, I'm going to let off a round.'"

Summer gang feud

This past summer, the Rock Machine have been fighting with the Hells Angels for "supremacy" of Winnipeg's local drug trade. Several homes and businesses were shot at or firebombed, and police feared the feud would spill onto city streets.

No one was hurt in Tuesday's shooting, but neighbours told CBC News they fear they could get caught in the crossfire if more gang-related shootings take place.

"It scares me to death because we don't know what's going on. ...It might come here," said one neighbour, who added that the Rock Machine member moved into her neighbourhood about two months ago.

"Two days after they moved in, the police came house to house and telling us that, 'You should be aware, you should be vigilantthey have guns but they are nice people,'" she said.

Police have been conducting surveillance on the Maples home, as well as other homes of suspected gang members.