Norman Williams heard the midnight gunfire which left a 36-year-old man dead after a targeted shooting along a rural road in Abbotsford early Tuesday morning.

"I think there were six shots. I was trying to remember the cadence and counting on my fingers."

The first two shots were a little further apart while the last four were in quick succession, said Willams who immediately called 911.

Recognizing it as some sort of automatic gunfire, he knew there was a good chance somebody had been shot.

Abbotsford Police got a series of 911 calls regarding gunfire in the 30200 block of Spallin, just off Mount Lehman road.

Officers arrived to find a man with gunshot wounds close to a green car.

The victim was from Abbotsford and known to police, and appears to have been targeted according to Abbotsford Police Const. Ian MacDonald.

"Although the investigation is in the early stages this does not appear to be a random act. It has the earmarks of a targeted shooting," he said.

It's too early to say the shooting is gang related, said MacDonald.

"We're keeping all investigative avenues open."

MacDonald declined to say if the victim had been the target of any attempted hits in the past.

Williams wasn't surprised to hear about the shooting death on the morning news.

"There's been so much [violence] lately. With the last shots so quick together... it wasn't a farmers gun."

Williams, who has lived in the area for 40 years, said his rural street is frequented by suspicious vehicles.

"We get some of these cars with tinted windows, and they meet. We assume it's drug deals."

His mother Anne Williams, who also lives along Spallin, said she heard the shots and a car drive away, but didn't quite know what to make of the commotion.

"I was up late, half asleep working on a crossword puzzle when I heard it. I doused the lights and couldn't see anything."

Next thing she knew a couple of officers were at her door asking questions.

Knowing police were on scene, she felt relaxed enough to go to bed.

The 87-year-old wasn't too fazed about a murder taking place in front of her house.

"It doesn't worry me too much, but I do like to know what's going on," she said.

"At my age I guess I've seen it all. I guess that's why I'm so quiet about it."

Neighbour Rob Hieldebrant, who lives at the end of Spallin, isn't quite as relaxed.

"It makes me nervous. I have three young children," he said.

He also suspects people are using the dead-end road to conduct drug deals.

"We understand we live in a city now, but [the violence] is coming out farther and farther into the country." Abbotsford Police blocked access to the area for most of Tuesday morning.

The department's forensic investigators are investigating along with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT).

Abbotsford News will be updating this story as more details become available.