Fatal Sydney shooting could be another case of mistaken identity, police say

A man shot dead in Merrylands West was not known to police, in a case with similarities to Tuesday’s killing in Campbelltown

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New South Wales police are investigating the shooting death of a man in Sydney’s west as a potential case of mistaken identity, marking the second fatal shooting incident in as many days.

Emergency services responded to reports of a shooting at a home in Merrylands West at about 3.15pm on Wednesday, where a man believed to be in his 30s sustained a gunshot wound.

The victim, who was yet to be formally identified, was treated by paramedics but died at the scene.

Police said the property was a location known to police for organised crime, but said “the victim has no links that we’re aware of to organised crime”.

At a press conference, Supt Simon Glasser said it was unclear what the man who was shot was doing at the location or his connection to the residents.

“The person who we believe has been shot has no adverse holdings with police. People that are linked to this address are known to … organised crime,” he said.

“It’s very early on in the investigation, however, there is a possibility that the wrong person has been shot by these offenders.”

The alleged shooting marks the second incident of its kind this week.

On Tuesday, 23-year-old Marco Tapia was shot dead in his bed as his family slept at about 3.40am after multiple attackers were believed to have forced their way into a two-storey home in Glen Alpine, near Campbelltown, in south-west Sydney.

That case was being investigated as a case of mistaken identity, police said, because Tapia was not known to authorities and had nothing more than a traffic offence on his record.

His martial arts gym remembered him in a public tribute overnight.

“We lost a real one today,” they wrote, adding: “Rest easy Marco, one of us forever.”

The Alameddine network, a notorious crime family, and the Coconut Cartel, an emerging crime-for-hire network, have allegedly become embroiled in a feud, spilling into shootings across Sydney in recent months.

Acting Supt Gretchen Atkins of Campbelltown police said on Tuesday she was aware of online posts about the Glen Alpine case and said everything was under consideration.

The NSW opposition leader, Kellie Sloane, said the incidents showed gangland violence was 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.

“Whether it is a young man, a student sleeping in his bed at night [or] a grandfather who’s kidnapped and murdered,” referring to the Sydney grandfather Chris Baghsarian , who was taken from his home on 13 February and later found dead.

She suggested the government was not doing enough to stop the shootings.

But the police minister, Yasmin Catley, criticised Sloane, whose electorate is in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, over her position on the state’s gun buyback scheme, launched after December’s Bondi massacre.

“The member for Vaucluse, we must remember, is also the same person that wants to squash [national gun buyback reform],” Catley said.

“She wants more guns on the street and wants to blame the police for not doing their job … I’m not tolerating that, I won’t have a bar of that.”