Cranbourne man Aaron Toth, 30, killed in Hampton Park drive-by shooting
Cranbourne carpenter Aaron Toth, 30, has been identified as the victim of a suspected targeted shooting in Hampton Park in the early hours of Saturday morning.
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An expectant father slain in a drive-by shooting in Melbourne’s southeast has been remembered as a selfless friend who “dropped everything” to help his mates.
Cranbourne man Aaron Toth, 30, died in the early hours of Saturday morning after a suspected targeted shooting in Bride Ave, Hampton Park just after midnight.
Mr Toth, whose partner is expecting, died at the scene as his killers fled in a stolen Ford Ranger, which was later found burnt out in Berwick.
Neighbours told the Herald Sun they heard two to four gunshots at the time of Mr Toth’s death.
Friend Sammy Adams, who was travelling to Melbourne after learning of the tragedy, said Mr Toth’s death had left him “so upset and f---ed up”.
“A day too late for a catch-up we will never have,” he said in a tribute shared to social media.
“I’ll never be able to tell you how much I love you as a mate for all you have done for me.”
Mr Adams said he hoped police found the “weak dog” who pulled the trigger.
“You will always be in my heart, brother,” he wrote.
Resident Aslam Pasha, who has lived in the street for 25 years, said: “I heard two rounds.”
Mr Pasha said people, often on motorbikes, came and went at odd hours from the rundown red brick house – which has been rented for several years – where the shooting took place.
Angela, who also lives in the street, said she was about to go to bed when she heard four loud bangs followed by silence.
“I was expecting to hear a scream or something,” she said.
Another resident, who did not want to be named, said he believed the people living at the property were mechanics because a lot of cars came and went at strange hours.
A woman who lives in Bride Ave said she had complained to police about the occupants of the single-storey home several times.
That area of Hampton Park, she said, had become increasingly unsafe.
The getaway vehicle, a Ford understood to have been stolen, was found burnt-out at Sweeney Reserve, Berwick on Saturday morning.
Police did not say whether they suspected the shooting was linked to organised crime groups, only that it had all the hallmarks of an targeted hit carried out by well-practised criminals.
Among investigators’ lines of inquiry will be Mr Toth’s movements in his final hours before the apparent drive-by execution.
Police on Sunday urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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