Residents are rattled after more than a dozen gunshots rang out near a Vanier strip club early Tuesday.

Two men were inside a car that was shot at shortly after midnight, in the area of Montreal Rd. and Durocher St., near the Playmate Gentlemen’s Club.

“I just heard boom, boom, boom, boom, boom,” said one woman, describing the rapid gunfire. “It sounded like fireworks.”

Officers also heard the shots, and stopped a vehicle that was speeding away from the area.

The driver and passenger are known to police.

An argument had started outside the club, which led to two men firing shots at the car, the Sun has learned.

Police talked to several people, who are linked to gangs, that had all been in the strip club.

No one was hit by gunfire and there have been no arrests.

Playmate management were expecting to hand over surveillance footage of the building exterior to police, but said the shooting wasn’t associated with their club.

“We monitor everything,” said day manager Louise Lafrance. “We don’t have any issues with gangs.”

Police are getting “limited co-operation” from the people inside the car, but were going re-interview them and go over video footage. Investigators have yet to say if the shooting was targeted or gang-related.

“We’re trying to determine whether those people were the intended victims,” said Staff Sgt. Mark Patterson, with the guns and gangs unit. “We’re trying to get more information.”

The latest shooting is the 23rd in the city this year and comes only days after gunshots were heard in the area of Lorry Greenberg Dr. and Hunt Club Rd.

It is unknown so far if they may be connected, but police are concerned about a rise in such brazen types of shootings.

For at least one Vanier resident who heard the shots from his bedroom, it’s the last straw.

The 24-year-old university student moved to the area in August but has already cancelled his lease, sick of the problems in the area, which, he says, include prostitution and drug use.

Last year saw 32 shootings as brazen gang violence led to a spike in gunplay.

Twitter: @ottawasundbell