‘Wrong person, wrong time': Forest Lodge shooting leaves beloved father-of-two dead, 'targeted' associate fighting for life
Emergency services were called to Ross Street following reports of a public shooting where reports of more than 15 shots were fired.
Police confirmed 39-year-old Gilbert Shino died at the scene, while his friend, 31-year-old Maradona Yalda, was rushed to hospital in a critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds to his legs, neck, and chest.
Witnesses described bullets 'flying everywhere,' with hotel staff narrowly avoiding injury.
Investigators believe Yalda, who was known to police and had links to Sydney's criminal underworld, was the intended target.
The attack came just days after he returned to Australia from time spent abroad in Dubai, Singapore and Bali.
He had come back to Sydney to visit his sick grandmother and ignored the life threats he had received in the past with a price on his head set by underworld criminals, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Relatives and friends say his friend Shino had no criminal ties, describing him instead as a family man who loved nothing more than spending time with his wife, Natasha Avakian, and their two young daughters, aged nine and seven.
'He was the life of the party, always smiling, always lifting others up,' one relative said on Instagram.
Another relative told Sky News, 'Gilbert was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and with the wrong childhood friend.'
A GoFundMe page launched by family friend Ashie Michael to support Shino's young family has already raised more than $65,000 from over 120 donations.
Ms Michael wrote on the fundraiser website, 'It breaks my heart to be writing this, but our beloved Giby was taken from us far too soon. He was a devoted husband and a loving father… his warmth, kindness, and joy touched every person who had the blessing of knowing him.'
Condolences will be received at St Mary's Assyrian Church of the East in Smithfield on Tuesday evening, with a funeral service expected to be held on Thursday, August 21.
Police have located a burnt-out car on Monday evening in Rydalmere believed to be linked to the attack.
Forensic teams are examining the vehicle as part of the investigation.
While detectives are yet to confirm if Shino was deliberately targeted, friends and family maintain he had no involvement in organised crime and was an innocent victim of Sydney's escalating gangland violence.
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