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Police should have been patrolling the street where a gunman lay in wait for over an hour before shooting an innocent man dead in the doorway of a western Sydney home, his aunt says.
Darlene Norton told Seven News on Friday that police could be doing “so much more” to suppress underworld violence after her nephew Joshua Macdonald was shot at a Merrylands West home on Wednesday afternoon.
“The car was sitting there for 90 minutes,” Norton said.
“If they already knew that these people next door were being targeted, they had a target on their shoulders, why weren’t they patrolling those streets?”
Police sources with knowledge of the investigation into Macdonald’s murder but not permitted to speak publicly told the Herald on Thursday that the assailants who shot him had been targeting Moshtaba Hafizi, a man police allege has longstanding links to the notorious Alameddine crime family.
Police had formally warned Hafizi several times that his life was at risk, including in the days before Wednesday’s shooting, according to several sources. The 30-year-old, who owns the Bruce Street home but does not live there, was aware the property could be targeted.
Shortly after 3pm on Wednesday, several shots were fired from the rear of what is believed to be a stolen Audi sedan. It’s believed to be the same vehicle found burned out at Denham Court that night.
Macdonald was not known to police and he has no links to organised crime.
He was killed the day after university student Marco Tapia was shot in bed in his Glen Alpine home in another case believed to be mistaken identity.
Norton also shared what would tragically be her final message to her nephew, wishing him happy birthday on Sunday. Macdonald replied thanking her and saying he was looking forward to seeing family soon.
But three days later, he was dead.
“I thought it was another Joshua [on the news], and then I picked up my phone,” Norton said.
The calls she had missed through the night brought the news that her nephew had been shot dead in a broad daylight attack police believe to be yet another case of mistaken identity.
Norton shared a grateful message from Macdonald’s friend, who credited the 40-year-old with saving his children’s lives.
“He is my children’s and my own guardian angel,” Norton quoted from the message.
Norton’s husband Trevor criticised Police Minister Yasmin Catley’s refusal to accept that underworld violence on Sydney’s streets was out of control.
“What does it take to be out of control?” he said on Seven News.
Catley on Thursday said she did “not accept that this is out of control”.
“Police are working around the clock to address these issues … and they’re not going to stop,” Catley said on Thursday.
Separately, asked if police had lost control of gangland violence in Sydney, Premier Chris Minns said: “For the people who’ve been affected, who’ve been killed, the answer is yes.”
Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said he would increase “proactive resources” tasked with combating organised crime and ensure a highly visible police presence to provide reassurance to the public.
“Organised crime and the types of crimes we have seen over the last two days will be a priority, and if we need to move further police to address that, we will, because this should not be tolerated,” he said on Thursday.
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Jack Gramenz is a breaking news reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.From our partners
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