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Video captures moment before ex-bikie gunned down
Dash cam footage has captured the moments before an unknown gunman opened fire on a former bikie yesterday.
The armed gunman is still on the run after opening fire on professional boxer Sam Abdulrahim in Melbourne.
The Mongols bikie gang associate was shot five times in the chest and stomach at Fawkner Cemetery and is now in a serious but stable condition in hospital.
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Last night, Victoria Police last night found the car-jacked getaway car they believed was connected to the shooting.
The car was found on fire by police in Epping.
It's understood the occupants of a Mazda SUV fired shots into a Mercedes station wagon on Box Forest Road shortly before 12pm.
Police say the offenders crashed into a fire hydrant and pole on Box Forest Road, near Sydney Road before the two men, clad in balaclavas, carjacked a nearby Ford Territory wagon before driving off.
Police confirmed the shooting was a targeted attack.
It's understood the kickboxer knew he had an "active" hit on his life but didn't care.
Victoria Police has recently been forced to intervene and stop several fight nights he was planning to compete in and promote.
Investigators feared he would be shot dead at the events.
Abdulrahim remains in the Royal Melbourne Hospital tonight – in a serious but stable condition.
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Gunmen at large after former bikie boss shooting in Melbourne
The armed gunmen who shot professional boxer Sam Abdulrahim in Melbourne yesterday are still on the run.
Known as "The Punisher", the Mongols bikie gang associate was this morning in a serious but stable condition in hospital after being gunned down while leaving a funeral in Melbourne's north yesterday.
The 30-year-old was shot in the chest six times at Fawkner Cemetery.
Photos show Abdulrahim's black bullet-ridden Mercedes-Benz sitting outside Fawkner police station.
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Speaking to reporters today, Victorian Premier Andrews said both he and Victoria Police took issues with gangs and gun crime "very seriously".
"I'm very confident that the people involved in this completely unacceptable behaviour will feel the full force of the law," he said.
Victoria police last night found a car they believe is connected to the shooting.
It's believed occupants of a Mazda SUV fired shots into a Mercedes station wagon on Box Forest Road shortly before 12pm.
Police say the offenders crashed into a fire hydrant and pole on Box Forest Road, near Sydney Road before the two men, clad in balaclavas, carjacked a nearby Ford Territory wagon before driving off.
The abandoned Ford Territory was found by police around 15 kilometres away, in Epping, around 10pm.
Police said a female driver and a young child were in the Ford Territory at the time but were uninjured during the confrontation.
Abdulrahim drove himself to a police station and was transported to Royal Melbourne Hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.
Fawkner resident, Danny Perini said it was shocking the incident occurred so close to home.
"A friend drove passed and said there was a bit of commotion at the the police station," he said.
https://twitter.com/LanaMurphy/status/1540545120332054528
"There's been a shooting here. That car has a couple of holes through the window.
"It's just a bit concerning considering we only live 500 metres away."
Victoria Police confirmed detectives from the Armed Crime Squad are investigating the incident and searching for the perpetrators.
Police confirmed the shooting was a targeted attack.
Those with CCTV footage of the incident or who witnessed anything related to the shooting are urged to contact police.
Australia's 'Coke can kid' celebrates new milestone
Jonathon Heeley was born weighing just 374 grams, almost the exact weight of a can of Coke, leading him to be infamously dubbed with the moniker.
At one time, Heeley held the Australian Guinness Book of Records title for the smallest premature baby survivor.
He is now approaching his 30th birthday and remains the smallest surviving baby ever born at Brisbane's Mater Hospital.
READ MORE: How to navigate buying and selling in a never-before-seen car market
Born at just 28 weeks gestation in 1992, Heeley was given a five percent chance of survival.
He stayed in hospital for five months after he was born, and when he finally went home his discharge papers read "future unknown".
"I feel so lucky to live every day," Heeley said. "It's so surreal and sometimes scary to think back on how small and fragile I was.
"I've had quite a normal experience growing up without any health issues. I would hope to say my birth has paved the way for what doctors can do now to save other premature babies."
His mother Gail Heeley, 66, said giving birth to her only child was an emotional rollercoaster.
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"Mater Neonatologist Professor David Tudehope, who has retired, told me there were only five babies born in the world born the same size as Jonathon that had survived, and there was no reason he couldn't be another one.
"I grabbed onto that – it gave me hope."
Three decades on, Heeley is happy and healthy, living in Hervey Bay and running his own dance school.
He also opened Regional Queensland's first Performing Arts High School and is working as a senior theatre technician at the Brolga Theatre in Maryborough.
'It's bananas': Buying and selling in a never-before-seen car market
Used cars are being turned over for the highest prices ever seen in Australia as the global car industry continues to rebound from its biggest disruption yet.
With prices continuing to climb, used cars cost 65 per cent more in the first three months of this year than they did in 2019, and 18 per cent more than they did at the end of 2021, according to data from Moody's Analytics.
Some drivers are managing to sell used cars for almost as much as they bought them for years earlier, while others are paying new-car prices for well-worn vehicles.
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"We've never seen anything like this," director of content at Drive James Ward said.
"It's bananas.
"You've got ridiculous waitlists on even regular cars, 12- to 18-month wait-times.
"And seeing used cars actually go up in value is also something we've never, ever seen.
"In many cases, you're able to sell a car that's 18 months old for basically what you paid for it."
Ward said certain types of cars, such as the highly sought-after Suzuki Jimny, were going for even more extraordinary prices.
He said the small four-wheel-drives were listed as worth $30,000 second-hand but had been advertised in many places as for sale at close to $50,000.
Dan Baxter, from in Ballarat in Victoria's west, sold his ute on Facebook in February for only $1500 less than he had bought it for eight years earlier.
"I bought the 2008 Toyota Hilux in 2014 for $22,000 with 170,000km. I sold it in February 2022 for $20,500 with 225,000km," he said.
The father believes he could have had someone pay even more for his ute if he had made more effort with the sale.
"However, to only lose $1500 on a car across eight years is pretty good," he said.
The unprecedented prices paid on the used car market begs the questions, should people sell their cars now? And what should they do if they need to buy?
We asked Ward for his expert advice on the situation.
Why are used cars going for such high prices?
Used cars are being sold for such high prices because there is a greater global shortage of new cars than there has ever been before.
In short, the lack of cars was created because car manufacturers stopped ordering as many car parts when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, thinking sales would slow down.
However, demand for cars actually increased because people had more money to spend on cars during the pandemic, being unable to travel or spend on usual activities.
"So there was a huge amount of demand for cars and a slowdown in production," Ward said.
The rush of people having babies during the pandemic also led to more people needing to get a new car to upsize.
Matthew, who lives near Caroline Springs, was left in exactly that situation.
"We needed to get a bigger car because we were having a baby," he said.
"We bought a brand new Mazda CX-5 in November and had to wait until March to receive it."
He is now trying to sell his third-hand Toyota Yaris on Facebook and has had more than 120 buyers inquire in one week.
The global backlog of car part orders was then compounded by people were working from home and ordering more computers and keyboards, leading to electronics manufacturers snapping up all the available semiconductors, which are vital parts in cars.
Car manufacturers were then left waiting for more parts to be produced to place car orders.
The market is now still working to make up the huge backlog of orders.
Should you choose now to sell your car?
Ward has cautioned anyone thinking of selling their car to make sure they have planned what they will do once it's gone.
"If you're selling in a high market, you're going to buy in a high market," he said.
He advised people who need a replacement car to lock in the price and timing of their next car before making a sale.
"It's exactly like property, you run the risk of selling home and having to buy in a case where your net changeover is not great," Ward said.
However, if drivers have a car they don't need, he said now is the time to sell them.
"Because it's never been a better market for sellers," he said.
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Advice for people buying a car at the moment
Ward has advised anyone buying a car the moment to beware of the financial dangers.
"You need to be a very, very cautious buyer, particularly when using finance at the moment," he said.
He advised buyers pay deposits to go on waitlists to get new cars, despite the long wait times forecast.
"What might happen is if there are 10 people in the queue ahead of you, six of those people may change their mind or may decide that they're not going to do it and all of a sudden you bump up the queue really quickly," Ward said.
He said buying a new car would be unlikely to put drivers at risk of paying too much for the car, unlike the high risk associated with buying a second-hand car at the moment.
"With second-hand cars, we're seeing these massive discrepancies between what is the sort of value you would expect to pay and what people are asking for," he said.
"Drivers should be very cautious against paying more for a car than they really should be, particularly with interest rate rises going up.
"Because if the market corrects, you're going to be in a really bad state."
Ward said for people who couldn't afford to wait for a new car, there were still used cars out there with decent prices for their value, but buyers needed to shop around, do their research and be open to passing up the exact colour or model they were after.
"Don't pay over the odds," he emphasised.
"If you're looking at buying a car that feels expensive for what it is, don't do it. "
Ward also advises anyone buying second-hand to look for cars that still had warranty left on them.
"If you buy a three-year-old Kia, that car would have had a seven-year warranty when it was new.
"So it means it's still got four years of warranty left.
"They are the ones I would be looking at, because they're the ones that you're the most protected with, in case something goes wrong."
He also advised anyone buying a used car to get a full service history and a certified mechanical inspection before buying.
Ward said anyone thinking of buying a car could reach out to South Australian couple lose $7k in text message scam
"And we'll start to get back into the system that we knew a couple of years ago."
Moody's Analytics also forecasts that in the "near-term" used car prices are set to stay high.
Police shoot man in chest, stomach and limbs after 20-minute standoff in Kaiapoi
A man who was allegedly threatening members of the public was shot by police officers in the chest, stomach and limbs, police said today. The man was seriously injured in the shooting in Kaiapoi, north of Christchurch, last night….