RCMP say old-fashioned pistols are no longer acceptable for gangs and having a serious weapon is important to them to send a message to their rivals. (CBC)

The shooting death of a young mother in front of her four-year-old son has provoked an overwhelming response by the public to offer tips to police pertaining to a recent spate of gun violence in Metro Vancouver, police said Wednesday.

"We're starting to see a bit of a groundswell, if you will, of people just saying, 'Enough is enough, we're fed up, we're going to give a call,' " said Cpl. Dale Carr of the RCMP's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.

Nicole Marie Alemy, 23, of White Rock was shot at the wheel of her husband's Cadillac while driving through an intersection in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey on Monday morning. Her four-year-old son was sitting in the back seat but uninjured.

Alemy was married to Koshan Alemy, believed to be linked to the so-called UN Gang, which is embroiled in a deadly turf war with the rival Red Scorpions and their associates, the Bacon Brothers.

Police said they still don't know whether Koshan Alemy was the intended victim or whether hit men are now targeting the loved ones of gangsters.

Koshan Alemy was charged with weapons offences in 2007, but the charges have since been stayed.

Nicole Alemy was shot while driving her husband's Cadillac through an intersection in Surrey on Monday morning, police say. (Facebook)

Carr said Koshan has been co-operating with the police investigation.

"I'd say he's… willing to sit down with us and speak with us and really offered us the information we were looking for. Then, we allowed him to move on," Carr said.

Investigators are also looking at a new lead that may establish a connection with two high school students who were killed in a single-vehicle accident last Thursday in Burnaby.

A Facebook page, posted by a person whose last name is Alemy, memorializes both Nicole Marie Alemy and the two Grade 12 students. The pair died when their vehicle, travelling at high speed, went out of control on Canada Way and crashed.

Police at the time were at a loss to explain why they were driving erratically, at up to 120 kilometres an hour. Now, Carr said, investigators are checking to see whether these are all coincidences or whether there are possible connections.

"We're going to take a look at that and see what, if any, advancement that can help our file," Carr said.

RCMP Cpl. Peter Thiessen said Wednesday officers have received about 50 tips over the past three days pertaining to the string of shootings.

Of those tips, he said two in particular may prove vital.

"I received some direct contact from two individuals that maintain they have been in the gang culture for quite a period of time," Thiessen said. "They want to try and assist us in any way they can."

Thiessen stressed that the calls have to be followed up to determine their validity, accuracy and potential value.

With files from the Canadian Press