Joshua MacDonald died shielding his best friend’s two young daughters when a gunman opened fire outside a home in Merrylands West, Sydney, his grieving family has said.
The 40-year-old electrician was shot dead on Bruce Street at about 3.15pm on Wednesday, 2 September, after spending his day off at a trade show.
His aunt and next-of-kin, Darlene Norton, said MacDonald’s friend and business partner, Nick Brown, told her that the children had just arrived home from school when the shooting began.
“He saved my children’s lives and I am forever grateful for this beautiful soul. He is my children’s and my own guardian angel,” Mr Brown wrote in a message to Ms Norton, she said.
“That’s Joshua all over. If he’d known those kids were in danger, anyone was in danger, he’d put himself in front.”
Family calls for action after Merrylands West shooting
New South Wales Police said officers from Cumberland Police Area Command found a man suffering from a gunshot wound when they arrived at the property. He was treated by paramedics but died at the scene.
Detectives are investigating whether MacDonald was the unintended victim of a targeted attack. Police have said the suspected target is believed to have owned the house but did not live there, while a grey Audi seen leaving the area has been sought as part of the investigation.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the presence of the children in the front yard made the incident particularly alarming. He said police would increase proactive resources in response to the shooting and the wider violence involving organised crime networks.
Ms Norton said her nephew had no connection to criminal groups and should still be alive. She criticised the police response, claiming a vehicle linked to the suspected attackers had been near the property for about 90 minutes.
“It was murder. Cold-blooded murder,” she told Australian media.
MacDonald’s family remembered him as hardworking, generous and kind-hearted. Ms Norton had sent him a birthday message just three days before his death, receiving the reply: “Thank you. Can’t wait.”
She said she initially believed reports of the shooting referred to another man before seeing a series of missed calls on her phone.
“I thought it was another Joshua,” she said.
The killing came a day after 23-year-old biomedical engineering student Marco Tapia was shot dead inside his family home in Glen Alpine, south-west Sydney. Police are also investigating whether that attack involved mistaken identity.
Police Minister Yasmin Catley has rejected claims that organised crime has taken control of Sydney’s streets, saying the government would not surrender them to criminal gangs. Police have urged anyone who sees suspicious activity to call triple zero immediately.
