An innocent man has been gunned down in what police believe was a tragic case of mistaken identity, less than 24 hours after another man was killed in a similar case.
Joshua MacDonald, aged 40, was walking along Bruce Street in the Sydney suburb of Merrylands West on Wednesday (September 2) when gunmen in a stolen Audi screeched up alongside him, shooting the tradesman in the head. He was killed instantly.
Victim had no links to organised crime
Mr MacDonald, who was an electrician by trade, is now understood to have been visiting an address with occupants that are allegedly 'well known to police for organised crime activity'. Officers from New South Wales Police have already confirmed that Mr MacDonald had no links to organised crime.
NSW Police Detective Superintendent Simon Glasser said: "The victim arrived at the property with a resident from the property and two young children. People associated with this address have links to organised crime. It is a possibility that the wrong person has been shot by these offenders."
Security footage shared online
Security footage of Mr MacDonald's death was shared online. In the footage, a gunman can be seen leaning out of the rear window of the stolen grey sedan before opening fire on Mr MacDonald as the Audi zipped past the western Sydney home. Those responsible for the Merrylands shooting remain at large.
Second fatal shooting in Glen Alpine
Mr MacDonald's death came mere hours after another fatal shooting in Sydney, in Glen Alpine in the city's south-west at around 4am on Tuesday (September 1). University student Marco Tapia, 23, was asleep in his bed in the early hours of Tuesday morning. He awoke to three masked men storming his home and was shot dead moments later, still in his bed.
NSW Police confirmed that the 23-year-old engineering student was not known to police and had only a traffic offence on his record, which has led detectives to believe the shooting may also have been another hit served with a side of mistaken identity.
Gangland turf war
The Coconut Cartel and notorious crime syndicate the Alameddine network have been embroiled in a violent turf war in Sydney in recent months, with the gangland sides understood to be at war with each other over the rights to the city's illegal drug and tobacco trade.
On Thursday afternoon, NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley hit back at claims police do not have the situation under control in the wake of the latest killings of innocent civilians. "We will not be surrendering our streets to organised criminals. Not now, not ever. Police are working around the clock to address these issues," she said. "The model that we are seeing on our streets of these organised crime gangs, and utilising and using young men to do their dirty work for them, is insidious."
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon added that there may be more shootings on the horizon for Sydney, due to the flagrant disregard for human life stemming from the warring parties. "What we are seeing at the moment is not the act of a genuine human," he said. "That disregard for human life - to shoot at people that are innocent or they're not even certain (of) - shows that they don't care about that. There are many people who know of those that are committing this. I ask those people to provide us with information because... there is a chance that your loved one may be a victim one day, because that is the nature of organised crime."
