KEY POINTS:
Gang warfare broke out in the Hamilton suburb of Fairfield on Saturday, with four shotgun blasts exchanged between two armed men in broad daylight.
A piece of debris flew from the roadside and caught a Mardon Rd bystander in the eye, but the shopkeeper was not seriously injured and was recovering at home yesterday after a brief visit to hospital.
Shortly after the gunshots rang out police swooped on the area and the armed offenders squad was called in.
Police sealed off the entire block for most of the afternoon while a forensic examination took place and investigation team carried out interviews.
The drama unfolded at 12.45pm on Tennyson Rd, said Senior Sergeant Pete van de Wetering.
He said a maroon-coloured car pulled up in the street. Two men got out and one fired several shots in "a general direction" before fleeing.
Witnesses who spoke to the Herald yesterday saw it differently, however. They said two men - some distance apart - fired shots at each other down the street.
One neighbour said the trouble came from outside the area, although a number of gang members with differing loyalties live in Fairfield.
They include the Bloods, Black Power and Mongrel Mob.
Mr van de Wetering said it was possible the perpetrators were gang members or associates, but that was "yet to be firmly established".
He was unable to say whether the shots had been aimed at people and police had not found any damage to surrounding houses. Nobody was seriously hurt, though many neighbours were left shaken.
People were reluctant to co-operate with police, said one woman, because they did not wish to be involved in a case that was nobody else's business.
Another woman said she worried for the innocent bystanders, and was grateful that she had just ushered her children to the back of the property when the gunshots occurred.
"You can sense when there is tension, when there is something not right and there's going to be trouble."
She was determined to move to another suburb for the sake of her children, even if it meant going to the local member of Parliament.
Nearby a group of men wearing red scarves appeared unperturbed by what had taken place and played down the incident. Because they were not involved they had no idea of the motive behind the attacks, they said.
Police have not made any arrests.
