Police sealed off a secluded alley in Birkby after a woman out walking her dogs found shotgun casings on a footpath.
Residents in Birkby now believe what they thought were fireworks going off on Monday evening and in the early hours of Tuesday, were actually the sounds of a weapon being fired.
Nothing was reported to police at the time but earlier today a woman walking on a footpath between Macaulay Road and Birkby Lodge Road found what she described as a bullet.
She alerted police and a team of officers went to the scene to investigate.
Following a fingertip search of the area they found a number of "items" which detectives from West Yorkshire Police have now confirmed includes shotgun cartridges.
It has not been confirmed if they are live shotgun cartridges or empty ones.
As of 7.30pm the alley was still taped off and being guarded by Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) at each end, but all police officers and detectives have now left the area.
The woman who found the "bullet" said she heard what sounded like gunshots on Monday night but dismissed them as fireworks.
She added: “We are not sure what happened but we think it may have been youths with a gun.
“There is a suggestion that they were blanks but in the current climate with gunshots being heard the police need to investigate.”
A resident of the luxury new build estate, who did not want to be named, said he too had heard bangs but not reported anything at the time.
He said: "My wife and I were still up and we heard a couple of bangs and we thought it was fireworks.
"It was about 9 or 10pm on Monday and we thought it was a bunch of kids walking past setting off a couple of crackers."
Detective Inspector, Mark Atkinson, of Kirklees CID said: “We are now aware that loud bangs were heard in the immediate vicinity during Monday evening and into the early hours of Tuesday, August 14.
“We are currently examining the casing found today and three items have been recovered so far.
“Officers are speaking to local people in the area and are particularly interested in hearing from anyone who may have seen suspicious activity or heard anything unusual over the past few days.
“We are providing high visibility reassurance patrols in the area, as this work continues.
“It is important that we quickly ascertain the nature of this incident and the items recovered.
“If you have any information as to the circumstances leading to this find or have witnessed anything that could assist in our investigations, I would urge you to get in touch immediately.
“You can call us on the non-emergency number 101 quoting log reference #900 of today or via Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
“Alternatively, you can use our live chat facility through the ‘contact us’ section of the Force website.”
Several incidents of gun crime have been reported in Huddersfield in recent weeks and police have vowed to get on top of the problem .
