Innocent males killed in grim double of mistaken identification as mob warfare spills over
A pair of random men have been wrongfully targeted by underworld contract killers, with assassins confusing the innocent bystanders with their intended targets twice in less than 24 hours
Marco Tapia (L) and Joshua MacDonald (R) were both mistakenly killed by alleged gangland hitmen within 24 hours of each other
An innocent electrician was allegedly gunned down in a horrifying case of mistaken identity – just hours after another man was reportedly killed in a similarly botched gangland hit.
Joshua MacDonald, 40, was simply walking along a street in western Sydney when a stolen Audi allegedly pulled up beside him on Wednesday night (September 2). A gunman opened fire from inside the vehicle, instantly killing MacDonald as a bullet struck him in the head.
He died at the scene in Merrylands West on Wednesday night. Police have since said Mr MacDonald had no links to organised crime. Detectives believe he may have been targeted after visiting a property whose occupants are allegedly known to police because of organised crime activity.
NSW Police Detective Superintendent Simon Glasser said Mr MacDonald had arrived at the property with a resident and two young children.
Joshua MacDonald, 40, was gunned down outside a Merrylands home on Wednesday
“People associated with this address have links to organised crime,” he said.
“It is a possibility that the wrong person has been shot by these offenders.”
Grim CCTV footage appearing to capture the moment of the shooting was later posted on TikTok, with the clip reportedly captioned: “Merrylands pew pew”.
The footage allegedly shows a gunman leaning from the rear window of a stolen grey Audi before opening fire as the vehicle sped past the western Sydney home.
The alleged Audi gunmen remain on the run.
The 40-year-old was killed instantly when gunmen opened fire from inside a stolen Audi sedan (pictured)
MacDonald’s shocking killing came just hours after another alleged case of mistaken identity ended with a 23-year-old university student shot dead in his own bed.
Marco Tapia was asleep at his home in Glen Alpine, in Sydney’s south-west, at around 4am on Tuesday, September 1, when three masked men allegedly stormed inside.
The engineering student was shot dead in his bed.
Police believe the terrifying attack was a targeted and carefully planned hit carried out by criminals – but detectives suspect the gunmen may once again have killed the wrong person.
Marco Tapia (R) had a bright future ahead of him before he was killed on Tuesday
Mr Tapia was not known to police and is understood to have had only a traffic offence on his record.
Adding another bizarre twist, alleged Coconut Cartel member Iziah Utai reportedly wrote on Instagram: “Popped the wrong person. Didn’t even get the right house.”
He later added: “RIP Marco. #innocentvictim.”
Sydney’s alleged underworld has been rocked by a violent turf war involving the Coconut Cartel and the Alameddine network.
The rival groups are understood to be fighting over control of the city’s illegal drug and tobacco trade.
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley hit back on Thursday at suggestions authorities had lost control of the streets following the latest killings.
“We will not be surrendering our streets to organised criminals. Not now, not ever. Police are working around the clock to address these issues,” she said.
She also condemned gangs for allegedly using young men to carry out attacks on their behalf.
NSW Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism Yasmin Catley
“The model that we are seeing on our streets of these organised crime gangs, and utilising and using young men to do their dirty work for them, is insidious,” Ms Catley said.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon warned that Sydney could see further shootings amid what he described as a shocking disregard for human life.
“What we are seeing at the moment is not the act of a genuine human,” he said.
“That disregard for human life – to shoot at people that are innocent or they’re not even certain (of) – shows that they don’t care about that.”
He urged anyone with information about the alleged criminals to come forward, warning that innocent people could continue to be caught up in the violence.
“There is a chance that your loved one may be a victim one day, because that is the nature of organised crime,” he said.
The latest deaths are not the first time an alleged gangland case of mistaken identity has ended in tragedy in Sydney.
Police say Chris Baghsarian, 85, was kidnapped by mistake(Image: NSW POLICE)
In February, pensioner Chris Baghsarian, 85, was allegedly kidnapped in what police believe was another case of mistaken identity.
The elderly Sydney man was abducted by masked men in an apparent gangland operation gone horribly wrong.
Despite desperate pleas from detectives and Mr Baghsarian’s family for his safe return, his body was discovered 12 days later almost 30 miles from where he was last seen alive.
The latest pair of botched killings have now raised fresh fears over the increasingly brazen violence allegedly spilling onto Sydney’s streets, with a third killing for Sydney in three days. However, this time, the person killed was 28-year-old Emad Alameddine of the Alameddine syndicate, so he is presumed to have been the likely target. He was shot dead at his Guildford home on Saturday night.
