A 12-year-old son tried to save his father after he was shot multiple times outside a martial arts gym in south-west Sydney.
Taha Sabbagh was drinking coffee in the driver's seat of his Mercedes when he was shot in an "execution style" targeted attack on Carlingford Street in Sefton at 6.30am.
His son wasn't hurt but ran for help before his 40-year-old father died out the front of Elite Fight Force mixed martial arts gym, sparking a murder investigation.
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Police are searching Sabbagh's home as part of their investigation.
Officers believe two masked men shot the Greenachere man, and that the shooting was likely linked to organised crime.
Superintendent Danny Doherty said the incident was "very traumatising" for Sabbagh's son and his family, who quickly rushed to the scene.
"It is horrendous a 12-year-old had to witness his father being shot dead in this manner," Doherty said.
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Police said Sabbagh mixed in underworld circles.
"We believe whilst he (Sabbagh) was relatively not well known to police, he was associated with people who are well known to police.
"We believe this is a targeted attack, it's not random – the execution style – it bears the hallmarks of an organised crime murder.
"It was callous and brazen and (the shooter) had little regard for human life."
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Doherty believed there was a link between a Mazda 3 found burnt out in a nearby suburb of Birrong and the vehicle used in the shooting.
Police suspect there were two people involved but are trying to establish who they were and what the motive behind the shooting was.
It has been six months since the last gangland murder when two women were killed in a drive-by shooting at Revesby.
It comes as a witness told Ben Fordham Live on 2GB Radio that he was inside a business across the road from the gym when he heard bangs.
"I was hoping [it] was a car backfiring and then as I heard a car speed off there was another series of bangs," he said.
"I hesitated to go to the front of the workshop obviously, and slowly looked out the window and saw people coming out.
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"Within minutes there was a load of ambulances, police everywhere, and then we saw a man on the ground not in a good way."
Despite the efforts of paramedics, the Sabbagh died at the scene.
A crime scene was established and examined by specialist forensic officers.
https://omny.fm/shows/ben-fordham-full-show/breaking-witness-describes-frightening-drive-by-sh/embed
In a statement posted to Instagram, Elite Fight Force said it would be closed for the day.
"We are very sorry for any inconvenience, Elite Fight Force will be closed today and all classes will be cancelled for the day," the gym posted to its Instagram stories.
"Please bear with us and stay updated with our stories for any new announcements."
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