"Help me!": Sydney dad executed in front of son identified
A father has been gunned down in front of his 12-year-old son in a suspected organised crime attack.
Taha Sabbagh, a chauffeur who had often dealt with celebrities in his line of work, was in the car with his child when the horrific attack took place. The two were sitting inside of Taha’s Mercedes SUV outside of Elite Fight Force gym in Sydney’s southwestern auburn of Sefton at around 6:30 am when the shots were fired.
Police responded to the reports of gunshots, and arrived to find a wounded Taha, who was treated by paramedics but ultimately passed away at the scene. The authorities have reported that the morning attack appeared to be targeted, and that Taha’s son made it out without physical injury.
However, the young boy didn’t make it out entirely unscathed, having watched the entire scene unfold. Police made the confirmation, stating that 40-year-old Taha had been “shot with his 12-year-old son right next to him.”
As one witness told The Daily Telegraph, “all I heard was a young guy screaming ‘help me, help me, my dad’s been shot’.”
Another witness spoke to 2GB’s Ben Fordham Live about the incident, recalling his hope that it had just been a car backfiring, and that he “hesitated to go to the front of the workshop, obviously, and slowly looked out the window and saw people coming out.
“Within minutes there was a load of ambulances, police everywhere, and then we saw a man on the ground, not in a good way ... It was frightening.”
"It is horrendous a 12-year-old had to witness his father being shot dead in this manner," Superintendent Danny Doherty told reporters, commenting that what Taha’s son had seen was “very traumatising.”
He also shared the police suspicion that Taha’s death “has all the hallmarks of an organised crime related murder … it was callous and brazen and [Taha’s killer] had little regard for human life.”
“I know this happened in daylight in a suburban area of Sydney,” head of NSW’s Homicide Squad Detective Superintendent Doherty said, “and I think the community should be appalled that this happened in front of a 12-year-old. Quite rightly.
“We’ve got a 40-year-old man who has been shot down in front of his son, and he is the victim.”
Facebook’s Request Dua page shared the news of Taha’s death with its followers, paying tribute to the fallen man and remembering him as “a loving son, brother, father, husband, he was loved by many.
“He will be missed greatly by all who knew him … Please remember our beloved and family and loved ones in your Dua. We ask Allah to give his family, wife and children comfort during this test.”
Images: Instagram, 9News