Man shot on Gold Coast is Rebels bikie, MMA fighter

Police have responded to fears of a new bikie turf war on the Gold Coast after a man shot eight times overnight was revealed as a Rebels bikie and former MMA fighter nicknamed ‘Pitbull’.

POLICE have played down fears of a fresh bikie turf war on the Gold Coast after the shooting of Rebels outlaw motorcycles gang member and former MMA fighter Gokhan ‘’Pitbull’ Turkyilmaz overnight.

Turkyilmaz, 33, was shot up to eight times and bashed with a baseball bat by a group of balaclava-clad men who stormed his Upper Coomera home lat night.

His partner and two young children were in the home at the time.

Gokhan Turkyilmaz during a bout in Townsville.

Police are investigating possible links to a violent showdown at Logan Hyperdome shopping centre on February 4 when a machete-wielding Bandidos bikie was shot in the leg, allegedly by a group of Rebels.

Seven Rebels gang members were arrested over the incident and police were understood to be keen to question Turkyilmaz before he, too, was shot.

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He is in a serious but stable condition in Gold Coast University Hospital as a police manhunt continues for the shooter.

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But Detective Inspector Brendan Smith said police did not believe the two incidents signalled another bikie turf war like that which triggered the infamous Broadbeach bikie brawl involving the Bandidos in September 2013 or the the 2006 ‘Ballroom Blitz’ at a luxury Gold Coast hotel where Hell’s Angels and Finks bikies fought a pitched battle win guns, knives and furniture.

“I don’t think so ... outlaw motorcycle gangs are known for using violence against themselves, within the clubs (and) against other clubs,” Insp Smith said.

Police at the scene of a shooting at Upper Coomera overnight.

“In the main, the general public have nothing to be concerned about. As an agency, we’re not particularly concerned about any rise to in unlawful activity by those gangs.

“They’re monitored on a regular basis and that will continue.

“(But) obviously you can’t rule everything out or everything in and that (a turf war) is a line of inquiry.”

Turkyilmaz was not co-operating with police, Insp Smith said.

Turkyilmaz is on bail on serious drug charges after being arrested in a major police operation in 2017.

He was among 12 people arrested in raids on 15 homes and businesses across Cairns, the Gold Coast and Sydney as part of Operation Papa Apaco.

Gokhan ’Pitbull’ Turkyilmaz was shot in the Groin at a house at Upper Coomera last night.

Police allege Turkyilmaz, a former MMA fighter and tattoo shop owner, was the “enforcer” of an ice trafficking ring, funnelling large quantities of the drug into Cairns.

He was due to appear in the Cairns Supreme Court tomorrow for further mention of the charges.

Eight bikies arrested after Loganholme Shopping Centre shooting. Photo: Supplied

Police are appealing for anyone who might have seen anything suspicious in the area around the time of the shooting, or have dashcam footage, to come forward.