Melbourne shooting: Update after associate killed on bike outside Craigieburn Central shopping center
A man injured while sitting next to suspected gang figure Robert Issa when he was 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 it was sprayed with bullets by four men wearing balaclavas outside the Craigieburn Central shopping center in Melbourne last Saturday.
Issa, who is believed to have links to the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang, died at the scene.
The survivor, a 28-year-old Hadfield man, was rushed to hospital after suffering serious injuries.
A man shot dead in a brazen drive-by shooting in Melbourne’s north on Saturday afternoon has been named as Comanchero associate Robert Issa (pictured)
Mr Issa, 27, was shot dead in a luxury Mercedes SUV riddled with bullets (pictured), while another man, 28, survived despite his serious injuries.
He was released from hospital on Monday but has so far refused to cooperate with Victoria detectives.
Police later called the shooting a “targeted” attack.
“This is a particularly serious and worrying incident, which would have been incredibly frightening for people who were in the car park at the time,” crime command commander Paul O’Halloran told media.
“This is a terrible incident and we are grateful that no one else was injured.”
The gunmen responsible remain at large.
They fled the scene in a luxury SUV and police are investigating whether a black Range Rover Sport, later found burnt out, is linked to the attack.
One of the offenders may have been burned when setting the car on fire, Victoria Police crime command commander Paul O’Halloran said.
Police are investigating whether the shooting at a Keilor home in September was linked to the victim.
The incidents are believed to be the latest act in an underground war for control of the illegal tobacco trade, which has also seen a number of homes and businesses set arson in recent months.
Police swarm Craigieburn Central shopping center car park after shooting
The shooters fled the scene in a luxury SUV and police are investigating whether a black Range Rover Sport (pictured), later found burnt out, is linked to the attack.
“A significant investigation is underway into a series of incidents over the past six months linked to organized crime groups involved in the importation and sale of illicit tobacco into Victoria,” Anti Supt. -gang Jason Kelly.
“Police believe the current situation is due to competing organized crime entities who are in conflict over the illicit tobacco trade here in Victoria and Australia more widely.”
Groups involved in the conflict include Middle Eastern organized crime groups and outlaw motorcycle gangs.
