Two people have been taken into custody following the shooting death of a man in Sydney’s southwest on Sunday.
Emergency services were called to Factory St in Granville about 4.30pm on Sunday following reports of a shooting.
On arrival, police found Xiao Zhao, 44, in the gutter suffering from a gunshot wound to his shoulder.
Despite the efforts of paramedics, Mr Zhao – who has not been formally identified – died at the scene.
Superintendent Andy Holland revealed on Monday that police believed two groups of males had met before the shooting.
“This is a definitely targeted attack,” Superintendent Holland said.
“The group of males have met here for some reason, and that is what we’re looking into.
“They didn’t just meet here for no reason.”
Superintendent Holland said police had taken two people into custody following the shooting.
He said the two men were aiding police despite efforts being hampered by the need for an interpreter.
“We‘re having some troubles with the translation with them,” Superintendent Holland said.
“That’s probably our biggest issue at the moment, making sure they understand what they’re talking to police about.”
The revelation comes as police ramp up their investigation into what is suspected to be another gangland-related killing.
Superintendent Holland could not confirm if the shooting was crime-related but said Mr Zhao was known to police before his death.
Officers have so far established four separate crime scenes and located two firearms in a nearby street.
Police have also seized every vehicle on Factory St as part of their investigation.
Superintendent Holland said there was no indication that any vehicles had been burned out after the shooting.
The Daily Telegraph reported Zhao had been getting into a black BMW sedan at the time of the shooting.
The Sydney paper reported helicopters flying overhead as dozens of police cars rushed to the scene.
Witnesses were also stopped on a nearby street and asked for information.
Superintendent Holland said Cumberland police would work with the State Crime Command to determine if the shooting was linked to recent incidents.
The shooting comes after a spate of high-profile attacks in Sydney’s west, including one on Marvin Oraiha, 24, who was killed in May.
As inquiries continue, police are urging any witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.
Superintendent Holland said the street was usually quiet, with an Australia Post located next door, and urged anyone with CCTV to come forward.
“There’s a lot of people that work at Australia Post offices that come in and go from that location,” he said.
“There was also a number of bangs heard at the location.
“We can’t attribute those to whether they were shot firearms involved or whether it was a crash of vehicles involved.”