Melbourne shooting: Update after bikie accomplice killed outside Craigieburn Central shopping center
A man wounded as he sat next to suspected gang figure Robert Issa when he was fatally shot in a busy parking lot survived the attack but refused to help police.
The two men were sitting in a luxury Mercedes SUV when four hooded men were sprayed with bullets outside the Craigieburn Central shopping center in Melbourne last Saturday.
Issa, who is said to have ties to the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang, died at the scene.
The survivor, a 28-year-old Hadfield man, was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.
A man shot dead in Melbourne’s north on Saturday afternoon was shot as an associate of Comanchero Robert Issa (pictured)
Mr Issa, 27, was shot dead in a bullet-riddled luxury Mercedes SUV (pictured) while another man, 28, survived despite being seriously injured
He was released from hospital on Monday but has so far refused to co-operate with Victorian detectives.
Police later called the shooting a ‘targeted’ attack.
“This is a particularly serious and disturbing incident which would have been extremely frightening for the people who were in the car park at the time,” crime boss Paul O’Halloran told the media.
“It’s a terrible incident and we’re thankful no one else was hurt.
The gunmen responsible remain at large.
They fled the scene in a luxury SUV and police are investigating whether a black Range Rover Sport, which was later found burnt out, is linked to the attack.
One of the offenders may have suffered burns when the car was set on fire, Victoria Police Crime Command Commander Paul O’Halloran said.
Police are investigating whether a shooting at a Keilor home in September was related to the victim.
The incidents are believed to be the latest act in a crime war to control the illegal tobacco trade, which has also seen a number of homes and businesses bombed in recent months.
Police converged on the car park of Craigieburn Central shopping center after the shooting
The attackers fled the scene in a luxury SUV and police are investigating whether a black Range Rover Sport (pictured), which was later found burnt out, is linked to the attack.
“A significant investigation has been underway into a series of incidents over the past six months involving organized crime groups involved in the importation and sale of illegal tobacco into the state of Victoria,” Anti-Gangs Superintendent Jason Kelly said. .
“Police believe the current situation is due to competing organized crime entities who are in conflict over the illegal tobacco trade here in Victoria and Australia more broadly.”
Groups involved in the conflict include Middle Eastern organized crime groups and outlaw motorcycle gangs.
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