Bankstown shooting: residents afraid after string of public shootings
A DAYLIGHT murder in a busy Bankstown shopping strip has left residents and local MPs wondering whether their suburb is truly safe any more. A local lawyer was shot four times and his assailant is still on the run.
The Express
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A DAYLIGHT murder in a busy Bankstown shopping strip has left residents and local MPs wondering whether their suburb is truly safe any more.
Criminal lawyer and Bankstown resident Ho Ledinh, 65, was shot four times by an unknown assailant as he had coffee with an associate at Happy Cup in Bankstown Plaza on January 23.
The State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad is investigating the “evil” targeted shooting.
Bankstown state Labor MP Tania Mihailuk described the event as a “highly distressing moment” for the local community.
“What is truly unsettling is that this incident by no means stands in isolation,” Ms Mihailuk said.
“A number of brazen shootings have occurred in the local area in recent years, many in much frequented areas.”
Crime Bureau statistics show the murder rate in the City of Canterbury Bankstown is 175 per cent higher than the state’s average.
Walid “Wally” Ahmad was shot dead in a Bankstown cafe on April 29, 2016.
However, the alarming trend of brutal daylight shootings is not limited to Bankstown.
Competitive bodybuilder Hedi Ayoub was murdered in broad daylight at a children’s playground in Punchbowl in June 2015.
A man was also seriously injured after he was shot in a targeted attack at a Villawood park in June 2017, just metres from six-year-old soccer players at training.
Blaxland federal Labor MP Jason Clare told Radio National he heard the helicopters arriving at the scene of Mr Ledinh’s murder from his office around the corner.
“It’s scary, it’s shocking, brazen – in the middle of the day, people sitting at a coffee shop and someone confronting a man and shooting him dead in the most heinous way,” Mr Clare said.
“You would expect that it terrifies people who spend a lot of time living and working and shopping in that area.”
Do you know him?
Homicide Squad and Bankstown detectives are conducting investigations to identify the man who shot Ho Ledinh
The shooter is described as possibly being Pacific Islander in appearance and with a medium build
He has been depicted wearing a dark cap, sunglasses, a high-visibility work shirt with a green raincoat over the top, dark trousers and black shoes.
The man was last seen running along Stewart Lane towards Restwell St.
Members of the public are urged not to approach the man if sighted, but should contact 000
Investigators are also appealing for video footage from shops, dashcams or mobile phones taken between 2.30pm and 4pm in the vicinity of Chapel Rd, Marion St, North and South terraces, Greenfield Pde, Restwell St and Bankstown City Plaza.