Disturbing CCTV footage has surfaced showing the fatal shooting of a tradesman in the driveway of a home in western Sydney, with police investigating whether he may have been the victim of another suspected case of mistaken identity.
Emergency crews rushed to the property on Bruce Street in Merrylands West at about 3.15pm on Wednesday after receiving reports that a man had been shot outside the home.
The victim, 40-year-old Joshua MacDonald, suffered a gunshot wound to the head and could not be saved, dying at the scene.
Footage shared on TikTok with the caption “Merrylands pew pew” appears to show a gunman leaning from the rear passenger-side window of a stolen grey Audi sedan and firing as the vehicle passed the house.
Neighbours said they heard as many as eight gunshots ring out during the brazen daylight attack.
Two children were inside the home at the time.
It’s understood Mr MacDonald, an electrical contractor, was visiting the house, where the occupants were ‘well known to police for organised crime activity’.
Police have confirmed that Mr MacDonald had no links to organised crime.
CCTV captured the moment a gunman in a stolen grey Audi opened fire on Joshua MacDonald outside a home of Merrylands West
The gunman (pictured opening fire) remains on the run
Police received reports of a shooting in Merrylands (above), west Sydney, about 3.30pm on Wednesday
‘The victim arrived at the property with a resident, from the property, and two young children,’ Detective Superintendent Simon Glasser said.
‘It’s still very early in the investigation. However, we believe the children were inside the premises
‘People associated with this address have links to organised crime.
‘It is a possibility that the wrong person has been shot by these offenders.’
A crime scene has been established and an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident is underway.
The gunman remains on the run as of Thursday morning.
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The news follows another fatal shooting in Glen Alpine in the city’s south-west at 4am on Tuesday.
Marco Tapia, 23, was fatally shot in the neck and arm in his bedroom after three masked men broke into a Mount Sugarloaf Drive home.
A work ute was parked out the front of the house as police swarmed the area
The unknown offenders fled the scene and remain on the run.
The young man was not known to police and had nothing more than a traffic offence on his record.
Detectives are considering whether it was also a mistaken identity hit.
‘Popped the wrong person. Didn’t even get the right house,’ Iziah Utai, an alleged member of the Coconut Cartel, wrote online after that shooting.
He returned on Wednesday to add: ‘RIP Marco. #innocentvictim’.
The Alameddine network, a notorious crime syndicate, and the Coconut Cartel, an emerging crime-for-hire gang, have allegedly become embroiled in a feud, spilling into shootings across Sydney in recent months.
Police established a crime scene around the home
Joshua MacDonald, 40, was shot in the head and died at the scene (above)
Bullet holes are seen on a gate out the front of the Merrylands West property
The property was known to police as linked to organised crime
Campbelltown Acting Superintendent Gretchen Atkins on Tuesday said she was aware of online posts and said everything was under consideration.
NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane said the incident showed gangland violence was once again out of control.
‘We need to be very clear about the threat on our streets and that is dangerous organised criminals … innocent people have been in the firing line way too often,’ she said.