Police investigate a double shooting near Manitoba Avenue and Andrews Street. Michelle (inset) died of his wounds. A second victim, Harry Harper, was shot in the back but survived. (Jason Halstead, Sun Media/Facebook)

WINNIPEG -- Friction between street gangs and their rivals, coupled with a change of seasons, is believed to be the main reason for a sudden spike in gunplay and violence in Winnipeg's core.

There are fears a weekend of mayhem -- one man was killed and three others wounded in four North End shootings Saturday -- is the beginning of a wave of violence as many warm summer nights lay ahead.

Police are responding by putting more officers in core neighbourhoods such as the North End, where much of the strife is rooted. Seven shootings occurred in the area last week.

On the weekend, the street crime unit was assigned to the North End to help out, said police Chief Keith McCaskill.

He said some shootings are gang-related and wouldn't dispel the possibility some are linked to a turf war or other issues between rivals.

Several members of one specific aboriginal street gang have been victims of stabbings and shootings recently, a source said.

Mike Sutherland, president of the Winnipeg Police Association, said there's no doubt gangs are in a tug-of-war for a bigger piece of the city's lucrative drug trade, and they aren't afraid to resort to violence to get it.

FATALLY SHOT

"In my 23 years I don't know if I've seen a weekend like this one," Sutherland said.

The slaying of 28-year-old Wayne Roger Michelle, who was fatally shot in the chest in the 500-block of Manitoba Avenue late Saturday, is gang-related, police said.

McCaskill said street crime unit officers heard the gunshots and performed CPR on Michelle.

A second man, identified by a source as 27-year-old Harry Harper, was shot in the back but survived.

The shots came from a handgun, police said.

Harper was charged but not convicted in the murder of Ryan Neufeld, 20, who was shot outside a house party in 2006. Harper accidentally shot himself in the thigh in 2005.

Michelle, 28, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison in 2002 for his part in the beating that killed Adrian Bruyere, 19, in 2000.

chris.kitching@sunmedia.ca