Tragic update in Sydney father’s shooting death
Family and friends of murdered father and chauffeur driver Taha Sabbagh have taken to social media over what they believe to be a devastating case of “mistaken identity”.
Taha was shot multiple times while sitting in his car outside of the Elite Fight Force Gym in Sydney’s southwest. His 12-year-old son was next to him, and witness to the murder.
Police considered it to be an “isolated” incident, and stated that it had “all the hallmarks of an organised crime related murder … it was callous and brazen and [Taha’s killer] had little regard for human life.”
Taha’s friends and family, however, aren’t interested in humouring that suggestion, refusing to accept that Taha was in fact the intended target.
Still processing the tragic news, one friend took to social media to share that Taha was “a beautiful person” and that his life had been “taken mistakenly and undeservedly.”
Others who’d known him were quick to respond to those who were considering connections to organised crime, and insisted that Taha was not the target, but instead a victim of “mistaken identity.”
Taha was not known to be a significant figure in Sydney’s underworld, but police have said that he knew people who are “well-known” to them, and that some reportedly have “connections” to the gym where the murder occurred.
"Whether he was the intended target or not, we'll still keep an open mind,” Superintendent Doherty stated, “it hasn't been established.”
Authorities had been led to believe that they had gotten on top of Sydney’s organised crime world after making a series of high-profile arrests, and Taha’s murder was the first they have been able to connect to the underworld since August 2022.
"The last shooting we've had that has an organised crime link was over six months ago,” Doherty said. “The number of shootings and murders have come down quite dramatically. The police have worked really hard in that area, with the assistance of the community."
He went on to add that police officers were on the hunt for at least two people suspected of performing the shooting, after witnesses claimed they saw one man leap from a Mazda and shoot, before two fled in the same vehicle.
What is believed to have been that Mazda was found burnt to a crisp in a nearby street, with police now asking for anyone with more information to come forward to help them in their investigation.
Images: Instagram