Police had warned Moshtaba Hafizi several times that his life was at risk before gunmen allegedly mistook a business associate for him and killed the innocent man outside a home in Sydney’s west.
Detectives believe Joshua Macdonald, 40, was shot in Merrylands West on Wednesday afternoon by attackers targeting Hafizi, who owns the Bruce Street property but does not live there.
Macdonald, who had no known links to organised crime, arrived at the house shortly after 3pm with two children. Police believe one of the gunmen opened fire from the rear passenger door of a stolen grey Audi as the group approached the property.
The children had entered the home moments before Macdonald was killed. Detectives are investigating whether the attackers followed him from a nearby school.
NSW Police sources said Hafizi had been formally told on several occasions that he was at risk, including in the days before the shooting. He was also aware that the Merrylands West address could be targeted.
The attack is being investigated as Sydney’s second suspected mistaken-identity killing in two days, after university student Marco Tapia was shot dead at his family home in Glen Alpine on Tuesday.
Police investigate suspected mistaken-identity shooting
Emergency services were called to the Bruce Street property at about 3.15pm on Wednesday. Macdonald was treated by paramedics but died at the scene.
Police said a grey Audi sedan was seen leaving shortly after the shooting and travelling west along Bruce Street. Detectives have appealed for dash-cam footage and information about the vehicle.
Superintendent Simon Glasser said on Wednesday that it was possible the wrong person had been shot. He said the occupants of the home were well known to police because of their alleged links to organised crime, while Macdonald was believed to be a business associate.
Investigators are yet to establish why Hafizi and his brother, Mustafa, may have been targeted, or whether the shooting is linked to continuing conflict between the Alameddine crime family and rival groups, including the self-styled Coconut Cartel.
Moshtaba Hafizi was acquitted last year of attempting to acquire illegal drugs, according to court records. His brother Mustafa has previously served five years in prison over a shooting in Parramatta in 2012 and was formerly a senior figure in the Hells Angels bikie gang.
Court documents have identified Mustafa Hafizi as an associate of Rafat Alameddine, the exiled patriarch of the Alameddine family who fled Australia for Lebanon in 2022.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said police would increase high-visibility patrols across Sydney following the two shootings. He said the attacks demonstrated a disregard for human life, particularly when innocent people were being targeted or caught up in underworld disputes.
“We can suppress the type of violence we’re seeing,” Lanyon said on Thursday.
Acting Premier Prue Car said the government would support police in efforts to stop the spread of gangland violence. Premier Chris Minns, who is in India, has requested an urgent briefing from the police commissioner.
Macdonald’s killing occurred a few hundred metres from a school on Bruce Street. Children’s bicycles, toys and play equipment were visible near one of the properties cordoned off by police, while bullet casings remained on the road beside a damaged front gate.
No arrests had been announced by Thursday. The homicide investigation is being led with assistance from the State Crime Command.
