Jamal Jones was victim of the shooting in St. Mary's area of Southampton

Police rushed to the scene and burst into the flat where they found Jamal Jones with gunshot wounds.

The 23-year-old from nearby Lyons Street was taken by ambulance to Southampton General Hospital but died there from his injuries.

• St. Mary's Shooting - in depth

Teams of specialist armed police swarmed St Mary’s after gunshots were heard.

Residents were ordered to stay indoors over initial fears that a gunman was at large.

A large area of St Mary Street was sealed off and residents looked on while officers and paramedics battled to save his life as he was carried out the building on a stretcher.

Police launched a murder hunt and soon arrested a 41- year-old man and a 36-year-old woman near the scene in connection with the shooting.

Yesterday they revealed that three others – an 18-year-old man, a 21-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman – had also been arrested.

All five were last night being questioned by murder squad detectives.

Police said all those involved were known to each other and that a post-mortem was due to be held yesterday.

They believed that the murder was drug-related but had not found the gun which had fired the fatal shots.

Officers have also not said why Jamal, who was well known in the area, was at the flat or why he had been shot.

Some residents said they had been told he had been shot in the head, but that has not been confirmed by police.

The drama happened at 11am on Saturday morning while St Mary Street was busy with market day shoppers.

Resident Amy Rose, 20, said she saw the victim put on a stretcher and then into an ambulance.

“It’s been really crazy and quite scary. Looking out the window I saw lots of police officers around.

“A police officer came to our door and told us to stay indoors. Officers are asking if witnesses have seen anyone leaving the area.”

This morning, a solitary bunch of flowers lies in tribute to the 23-year-old Jamal Jones.

Flowes on St. Mary's Street in Southampton

Forensics teams were combing the surrounding streets yesterday and exploring every possible hiding place in a bid to find the murder weapon.

Officers said they did not believe there was any further risk to the public.

Chief Inspector Craig Dibdin said: “We understand the public may have some concerns of safety due to the nature of this incident.

“We do not believe the public are in any danger as we are following a number of lines of enquiry that cause us to believe at this time this is a drug-related incident where the victim and suspects were known to each other is some way, and this incident has occurred as a result of their criminal activity.

“We will continue to have a police presence in and around the St Mary’s area while the investigation at the premises continues.”

A cordon had been set up from the bottom of St Mary Street next to City College along to the Plume of Feathers pub.

By Sunday that cordon had been reduced but was still cutting the street in two. It is expected to remain in place today. Now the community is coming to terms with the shocking events which disturbed the peace in the area.

A traditional Scouts parade to celebrate St George which was due to take place yesterday was cancelled in the wake of the shooting.

The parade, which is attended by hundreds of Scouts and members of the public each year and centres on St Mary’s Church, was called off while the cordon remained in place.

Mohamed Mohamud of the Hampshire Somali Community Centre in nearby James Street said: “A lot of people are shocked by what’s happened here. I’ve got nothing but positive praise for this area, it’s a multicultural area where everybody knows everyone. It’s a deprived area but people just get on with life, they just want their kids to have a good future.

“This type of thing doesn’t happen at all. It’s very unusual.”

On Sunday morning calm was beginning to descend upon the street again and businesses had opened up after they had seen no trade on Saturday afternoon.

Abdiwelli Dige, who also uses the community centre, said: “We have had fights and muggings here but nothing to this extent.”

One shopkeeper, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “Everybody’s shocked in this area by what’s happened, the brutality of it.

“We’ve had murders here, it does happen but it happens everywhere, in Shirley and in Millbrook, everywhere.

“I’ve worked in this area for 20 years, I really like it. It’s a real close-knit community. Everybody knows each other.”

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