Matthew Reynolds, 18, was one of two young men gunned down at a house party in Winnipeg's Elmwood neighbourhood early Saturday morning. A 17-year-old boy was also injured. (Facebook)Family and friends of one of two men shot to death at a party in a Winnipeg home early Saturday morning say they're devastated he met such a violent end.

"Why someone would do that to him?" asked Ashley Pahl, the former girlfriend of 18-year-old Matthew Reynolds.

'You would have never thought someone had a grudge on him.'—Lacey Freeman, friend of shooting victim

"Everybody liked him," Pahl told CBC News. Reynolds was the father of a two-year-old son named Damien.

Reynolds, along with Tyler Hawula, also 18, were identified by investigators as the deceased victims of the shooting.

A 17-year-old boy was also shot and wounded but is expected to recover. He was not identified.

Police said they received a 911 call about 12:15 a.m. CT about shots fired in a home in the 400 block of Martin Avenue.

Const. Jason Michalyshen, a spokesman for the Winnipeg police, said on Saturday that about 20 to 30 young people were at a party when an unspecified number of assailants arrived and shot the three victims with a large calibre weapon.

Police continue to search for suspects, but said they are challenged by the departure of a number of potential witnesses from the party before police arrived.

Lacey Freeman, 16, said she's known Reynolds for many years. She described him as a "good guy," who wasn't involved in gang life.

"It's just really hard to believe, especially a guy like him," Freeman said. "You would have never thought someone had a grudge on him.

"Just whoever killed him needs to know that he didn't deserve it," Freeman said.

Michalyshen said police are still piecing together clues in what led to the shootings, including trying to figure out whether the suspects had been invited guests.

Anyone who was at the party but has not yet spoken with police is asked to call 204-986-6508.

More details about the shootings will be released at a news conference on Sunday afternoon, police said.

2nd recent fatal house party

It's the second time in less than two years that multiple people were shot and killed at a Winnipeg house party.

In March 2008, three people died while attending a house party on Alexander Avenue in Winnipeg's Weston neighbourhood.

Two masked gunmen burst into the home and opened fire.

Three others were critically wounded.

Two suspects, a 20-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy, remain before the courts and are each charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder.

Both are linked to Winnipeg street gangs, but police said the shootings were not gang-related.Online tribute for Matthew Reynolds posted by friends on Facebook.com. Inset is the shooting victim's two-year-old son, Damien. (Facebook)