Gunshots and vehicle fires hit St. Monica's Road in Pembroke over the weekend, prompting calls for a permanent Police presence in the gang-blighted area.

Shots rang out around 3.45 a.m on Saturday in what is understood to be a 'drive by shooting' incident. No-one was injured.

Almost exactly 24 hours later, at 3.25 am yesterday, Police received reports of a car and motorcycle ablaze on the same road, nicknamed "42nd Street." Both vehicles were extensively damaged.

Some locals speculated the incidents were the result of 'town vs country' gang violence stirred up when two Pembroke men were jailed for life on Friday for murdering Southampton resident Aquil Richardson.

However, another source cast doubt on that theory while the Police said details remained unclear and refused to comment.

St. Monica's Road was cordoned off for hours while detectives hunted for clues. Nelson Bascome, the Progressive Labour Party MP for Pembroke East Central, lives near the scene and was woken in the early hours of Saturday.

"I thought I had heard some shots. I heard the sound like some 'pop pops.' I was saying to myself maybe it was something backfiring. I didn't for the life of me think it was gunshots," he told The Royal Gazette yesterday.

Mr. Bascome said local residents were tired of being placed in the spotlight by such problems, and warned: "This community does not tolerate that type of behaviour."

He added: "We continue to call for constant Policing in that area. I was just at a community meeting Thursday evening.

"One of the residents called for a sub Police station. It's an area that needs constant Police surveillance.

"The Police have the rolling patrols, they are coming through, but it's an area where you always find a congregation of people regardless of the time of day or night.

"We have quite a number of elderly people in that area... I am sure there are some that do have some fear."

Mr. Bascome said the faces of local youths who hang out on the street are well-known, but the Police should be there to send outsiders back where they've come from if they're not there for good reason.

One 43-year-old man who lives in St. Monica's Road told this newspaper on Saturday lunchtime: "I just heard 'pop pop pop' in the early hours of the morning.

"I didn't even hear no voices or nothing after that. I didn't come out of my house. I guess it was the younger generation retaliating against what happened (at the Supreme Court) yesterday.

"I'm not involved with the younger generation. This area's alright, it just gets a bad name, that's all. Most of the time it's people from outside."

The gunfire and vehicle blazes came after Antoine Anderson and Philip Bradshaw were convicted on Friday afternoon of murdering 30-year-old Aquil Richardson in a shooting in Camp Hill, Southampton on Boxing Day 2007.

No motive for that crime was ever put to the Supreme Court jury by prosecutors, but questions were raised over whether it was due to gang rivalry between the notorious 'town' and 'country' factions.

Jakai Harford who has family links to the murderers had been shot and injured in the same Southampton area leaving a party 48 hours before.

Bradshaw and Anderson, of Curving Avenue, Pembroke, told the court they attended the party with Mr. Harford in a convoy that travelled there from St. Monica's Road.

That area is part of the 'town' area, while Southampton is known in gang circles as 'country.' Mr. Harford lived in St. Monica's while Mr. Richardson hailed from Southampton.

However, one source last night cast doubt over speculation that this weekend's incidents were the work of culprits from the Southampton area seeking retaliation after the court case.

The source, who asked not to be named, claimed the man whose car got "shot up" early on Saturday originally hails from '42nd Street' but hangs out in Camp Hill.

They named him as the host of the Christmas Eve 2007 party that culminated in the Jakai Harford shooting.

"I know it wasn't no rivalry between Southampton boys and him because he has friends (there.) I heard he was attacked by some Middletown boys... they tried to make it seem like it was retaliation," claimed the source.

The Police offered no comment on the weekend incidents, apart from issuing an appeal for witnesses.

Shadow Minister for Public Safety Michael Dunkley said: "Unfortunately, as we've seen over the last couple of years, the use of violence by gangs has been something we've seen increasingly throughout the Island.

"That's a real concern and in the aftermath of the Supreme Court trial it's certainly very disappointing that we see this taking place.

"I would urge everyone in the community to work with the Police and help them in every way they can to help them solve the crimes.

"The only way we can deal with this is if people stand up and say 'enough's enough' instead of running for cover when something happens."

• Police are appealing for anyone with information to contact 299-4244 or the confidential Crime Stoppers hotline on 1-800-623-8477.