00:00 Tributes laid for Robert Issa in the packed car park where masked gunmen opened fire 24
00:07 hours earlier. The 27-year-old died and a 28-year-old was injured when the men peppered
00:12 their Mercedes with bullets. Scores of horrified onlookers thankful they escaped the crossfire.
00:18 We could see the deceased on the ground with the white sheet covering him.
00:23 I acknowledge this is a particularly serious and concerning incident.
00:26 No doubt for the people who witnessed this awful event will be provided with the support
00:32 they need.
00:33 Four men fled the scene in a black Range Rover later found torched 14 kilometres away in
00:38 West Meadows. A second getaway vehicle, a blue Toyota, was dumped in reservoir having
00:44 suffered the same fate.
00:46 At the car park crime scene, the dead 27-year-old's distraught family held vigil long into the
00:51 night.
00:54 Police today confirmed the men had underworld connections, but they're still working to
00:58 determine if the shooting is linked to a string of arson attacks on tobacco stores across
01:03 Melbourne, most recently in Bentley yesterday morning. A multi-agency task force has been
01:08 established to tackle the illicit tobacco trade by two competing crime syndicates.
01:14 Police believe the syndicates are comprised of personnel from the Middle Eastern organised
01:18 crime groups and also involve outlaw motorcycle gangs.
01:22 This is the second gangland execution to unfold in broad daylight, metres from the public,
01:27 in the space of a few weeks after the shooting of crime figure Gavin Preston last month.
01:32 Police say they don't believe the two shootings are related and they insist the community
01:36 is safe. They're also confident they'll be able to make arrests related to both incidents
01:40 soon.
01:41 We're tackling this issue from all sides and we've got a very, very strong response.
01:47 The government needs to tell Victorians how it proposes to invest in the police that we
01:52 desperately need.
01:53 We've already strengthened a range of powers for Victoria Police.
01:57 Authorities say a non-fatal shooting targeting a home in Craigieburn last month is linked
02:02 to this latest deadly assault.
02:04 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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