Honoring the ‘Devoted Dad’ Lost in Pub Shooting as Escape Car Discovered

Detectives have found the suspected getaway car in the shooting at a pub in Sydney’s Inner West as tributes flow for the “devoted husband” and “loving father” killed.

Maradona Yalda, 31, and Gilbert Admon Shino, 39, were walking to their car after watching the UFC at the Harold Park Hotel in Forest Lodge on Sunday evening when they were peppered by bullets.

Witnesses reported hearing between six to 12 gunshots. 

Shino was shot and died near the car on Wigram Road, while Yalda was hit in the neck, chest and abdomen while running back to the pub and was found slumped over a garbage bin on Alfred Street.

The shooter is believed to have fled in a dark blue Ford Mustang seen driving away from the shooting.

A car matching that description was found burnt out at Primrose Avenue in Rydalmere about 10pm yesterday.

A crime scene has been established as police investigate whether it is linked to Sunday’s shooting. 

A passing doctor and medical students at the pub had tried to help the two friends.

Shino died at the scene, while Yalda was rushed to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

Yalda underwent two surgeries and remains in stable condition at the hospital under police guard.

He has links to underworld gangs and has a price on his head.

Yalda is believed to be the intended target of the shooting, with Shino only known to police for low-level offending.

Shino’s wife, Natasha Avakian, has shared a brief but heartfelt statement today.

“How am I going to live without you? You were my life,” she said on social media.

Tributes have begun to flow for Shino, who is being remembered as a “devoted husband and a loving father” to two girls.

“His family was his everything, and he would have moved mountains to make sure they were cared for and loved,” a post on crowdfunding page GoFundMe read.

“To his friends and family, he was more than just someone we loved—he was the life of the party, always smiling, always lifting others up, and always there when you needed him.

“His warmth, kindness, and joy touched every person who had the blessing of knowing him.

“He truly was an amazing human being, and his absence leaves a hole in all of our hearts.”

The gunman remains on the run today. 

Detectives are not ruling out whether there was an accomplice.

Anybody with dashcam footage of the area between 2pm and 7pm on Sunday is urged to come forward.