Cafe angel wings, peppered with bullet holes, a stark reminder of ‘brutal’ shooting of Gavin Preston

A former associate of crime heavyweight Gavin ‘Capable’ Preston has warned his slaying in a Keilor cafe has upset people, and his killers will “end up in the boneyard” for the “low, dog act”.

On a standard Sunday morning, Sweet Lulu’s cafe in Keilor would be full of diners hooking into their breakfast as they enjoyed their first coffee for the day.

But 24 hours after the corner cafe was peppered with bullets, there were no coffees being poured and the doors remained closed on Sunday.

Locals going for their morning walk paused to observe the six bullet holes blasted into the wall, eerily set around two sets of angel wings painted on the brick render.

“They missed a few shots didn’t they,” one woman said to her kid.

“That’s killed their business,” another man said.

Forensic police at the scene of the Keilor shooting. Picture: David Crosling

Bullet holes pepper the angel wings artwork wall. Picture: David Crosling

Gavin Preston was shot while sitting at a Keilor Cafe. Picture: Supplied

Underworld figure Gavin ‘Capable’ Preston, who was shot dead at the Keilor cafe. Picture: Supplied

There was a tense feeling among those who walked the suburban strip of shops.

The table and chair Gavin “Capable” Preston dined at before he was killed sat in the same spot, empty.

Customers at a cafe a few doors down asked the barista there if their staff were okay, still in shock about what had occurred so close by just the day before.

Detectives on Sunday slipped notices under the doors of nearby businesses, calling on them to provide any information they knew about the brazen attack.

Isaac Francis, a young employee at a fruit shop near the cafe, said he could feel the tension in the air on Sunday morning.

“I’m just a bit shocked,” he said.

“It doesn’t normally happen around here, nothing like that.

“The occasional bad thing happens but nothing like that.

“It’s crazy, hopefully everything goes back to normal.”

Louis, who opened his restaurant two weeks ago in the shopping strip, said he’s never experienced anything like Saturday’s chaos in his life.

“There were just police everywhere, it’s a little bit scary,” he said.

“It was bad for my business too, Saturday is a busy day so we got nothing.”

Another employee in a shop, who wished not to be named, said the “brutal” killing hit close to home.

Detectives walk past the scene of the shooting in Keilor, where bullet holes serve as a stark reminder of the slaying. Picture: David Crosling

“So many kids have their photo taken against the wall with the wings, even my kids have done it,” she said.

“It’s just brutal.”

A takeaway worker said that everyone was “a bit on edge”.

The bloodshed that rattled the community put the full stop on Preston’s wild life, who was described as a “wrecking machine” by the force some years ago.

One man who had numerous meetings with Preston said he was measured with an undertone of menace.

He said Preston was at the time working in demolition and, although there was no violence, he knew how to generate fear, incrementally raising his intensity.

“There’s no argument, no debate. It was one way,” he said.

A former associate of Preston described him as well-mannered with a “twinkle in his eye”.

That person said there would be many people upset by what had happened at Keilor.

“I hope the cops catch up with you (the killers) soon. You’ll end up in the boneyard. It’s a low, dog act.”