Fears bikie war about to erupt after Rebels member shot up to eight times
HOURS after a fully patched Rebels member was shot up to eight times, his brother issued a frightening warning that could see a bikie war erupt.
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HOURS after a fully patched Rebels member was shot up to eight times, his brother issued a frightening warning that could see a bikie war erupt.
“One by one I’m coming.”
Police say there is growing tension between the Rebels and the Bandidos after Rebels member Gokhan Turkyilmaz, 33, was bashed with a baseball bat and shot out the front of his Kumnick St, Upper Coomera home about 8.30pm on Tuesday night.
The men were wearing balaclava and the gunshot wounds to the legs, groin and buttocks were from a .22 calibre rifle.
No arrests had been made in relation to the incident as the Bulletin went to print last night.
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Turkyilmaz, a former MMA fighter known as “Pitbull”, underwent surgery yesterday afternoon.
His brother Emrah Turkyilmaz, who also has links to the Rebels, posted on Facebook yesterday, mere hours after the shooting, that “One by one I’m coming.”
“Think you’s are men doing what you’s have done, think you’s are tough going to a family home with his wife and baby their think yours are tough shooting a man 8 times (sic),” he posted.
“Well you’s aren’t and it’s going to catch up real soon thanks for the messages every one but can you’s please let our family grieve together if we do need any thing we will reach out. I love you brother so f---ing much (sic).”
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Detectives are investigating if the shooting was a “get back” for another shooting incident at a busy Logan shopping centre this month.
It is understood the Rebels and Bandidos had organised a meeting at the Logan Hyperdome on February 4. However, it turned sour with an alleged member of the Bandidos arming himself with a machete before he was shot in the leg.
Police sources say Turkyilmaz was a person of interest in the violent melee and they were looking to speak with him before the Tuesday night shoot up.
A police insider said there were concerns about an increase in violent incidents both on the Coast and in Logan over the past few months.
Investigations have also turned to a robbery at gunpoint on February 25 in Robina. It is understood the two men who allegedly robbed a 28-year-old Varsity Lakes man are associated with the Rebels and know Turkyilmaz.
A 22-year-old man is assisting police with their investigation into the robbery that has a striking similarity to the Logan shooting.
When quizzed on whether a bikie war was about to erupt, a police source said, “all I know is the Logan Rebels are very violent.”
“Is this a tit for tatt for what happened in Logan? Only time will tell, being shot in the legs, like the Bandido was shot in Loganholme doesn’t seem like a coincidence to me.”
Another source said: “An incident like this doesn’t just affect the Coast. This could have implications statewide for the Bandidos and Rebels if it turns out to be a get back.”
Turkyilmaz’s father wrote on Facebook yesterday: “My son been shot 10 times Alhamdulillah he’s OK thanks for the people coming to hospital (sic).”
A third police source said “there has been bikie tension in Logan (with the Rebels). It’s been simmering for a few months. The Rebels are renowned for taking retribution.”
The insider described the Rebels shooting incident and the recent bashing involving a Hells Angels at Palm Beach as extremely worrying.
The police RAP squad had been successful early on moving the Rebels out of their small clubhouse at the back of Nerang, preventing their massive membership base from having a presence here, the police source said.
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“We’ve taken the foot off the throat. Those bikie groups involved (with the recent incidents) had no affiliation with the Coast. We kept the Hells Angels out of the Coast.”
After the Palm Beach incident and interviews with police and bikie insiders, the Bulletin this month revealed the battle of the bikies on the Queensland-NSW border had begun with fears gang warfare could erupt like the infamous Broadbeach bikie brawl.
But Mayor Tom Tate rejected the report as a “beat up” saying he preferred to take the advice from senior police who rejected the suggestion.
A police source yesterday said: “How many shots does it take to make a beat up. Six or eight. The Rebels won’t take this (the latest shooting) lightly. The new consorting laws have no value whatsoever. It’s a smokescreen.”
Detective Inspector Brendan Smith was quick to downplay the potential for an all-out bikie war heating up on the Gold Coast.
“Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs are known for using violence against themselves, within the club, against other clubs,” Insp Smith said.
“As an agency we’re not particularly concerned about any rise in unlawful activity by those gangs.
“They’re monitored on a regular basis and they’ll continue.
“We don’t believe so (that it’s a turf war), but obviously you can’t rule everything out, or anything in. It’s something that is a line of inquiry that we take.”
Insp Smith said Turkyilmaz heard a noise outside his home and went to see what was going on.
“He’s heard noises in his front yard, he’s went to investigate and he’s be confronted by a number of males where they’ve assaulted him with a baseball bat and also with a firearm. He’s been shot in the buttocks, groin and upper thighs.
“There's conflicting versions at this stage. The victim is saying up to five male persons, but we’ve got other independent witnesses saying two to three.”
Neighbours said they hadn’t heard anything, with an elderly lady saying she didn’t want to live in the street anymore.
“I don’t want to live here if something like that is going on,” she said.
Another resident who lives on the same street said she was completely shocked she didn’t hear anything.
“I had no idea that anything happened last night and that’s really concerning that I live down the street,” she said. “I didn’t hear a thing.
“For someone to be carrying a gun, they must feel like they have to carry it for protection or something. That’s really scary.”
Turkyilmaz was last night in a stable condition at the Gold Coast University Hospital.
If you have any dashcam or CCTV footage, or any information that could assist police with their inquiries, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Originally published as Fears bikie war about to erupt after Rebels member shot up to eight times
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