The howls of an elderly woman rang out along the quiet street. Tough men sat in despair, comforted by the steady hand of a friend on their shoulder. A young woman sat on the ground with a blood stain on her clothes.
None of those gathered at the scene of Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim’s murder could say they were surprised that the marked man had finally met his end.
A woman with blood stained clothes is comforted at the scene.Credit: Wayne Taylor
But it didn’t make their loss any easier. Their cars littered the street, left haphazardly across the road as they rushed to the scene.
Family members were escorted beyond the police tape shutting High Street in Preston for most of Tuesday.
Others gathered around the corner to watch the crime scene from afar, but everyone’s focus was the Quest hotel. An unremarkable serviced apartment building that now becomes part of Melbourne gangland folklore as the last hiding place of Abdulrahim.
His loved ones huddled together by the entrance, embracing each other as they sat on the footpath outside.
A group of women comforted Abdulrahim’s distressed girlfriend, who had narrowly escaped injury when the 32-year-old was gunned down next to her.
Police say the woman attempted to provide first aid to the boxer after the shooting despite him being far beyond help.
Tears streaming down her face, police officers escorted her to the entry of the undercover car park where the execution took place.
Apart from the pronounced voices of television reporters and the quiet gossip of rubberneckers, the only sound to be heard was the constant tick of a traffic light crossing.
Detectives and forensic officers meticulously combed the scene. They could be seen examining a bullet casing found in the middle of High Street, about 100 metres away from the entrance to the hotel.
On the north side of the top floor of the Quest hotel about 4pm, a solitary guest watched on from his balcony as Melbourne’s media and police gathered at his doorstep. Later, a pair whose room overlooked High Street peer over their balcony towards the crime scene below.
More mourners keep watch over the crime scene.Credit: Wayne Taylor
When the street eventually reopened to traffic just before 5pm, a line of nine police officers stood guard in front of the entrance to protect the scene but also to reassure locals rattled by the cold-blooded execution so close to home.
An associate of Abdulrahim said his friend had failed to heed warnings just days before the deadly ambush to stay away from Melbourne until things “cool off.”
The former bikie was resigned to his fate and lived by the motto “my time is up when my time is up”.
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