WHY HIM? HEARTBROKEN FAMILY REVEALS INNOCENT TRADIE’S FINAL MOMENTS AFTER HE WAS SH0T DE-AD IN SUSPECTED GANGLAND MISTAKE — THE HEROIC ACT HE MADE BEFORE HIS LIFE WAS CUT SHORT WILL HAUNT THEM FOREVER
An innocent tradesman who was gunned down outside a western Sydney home in a suspected case of mistaken identity died while protecting his best friend and two young girls, according to his family.
Joshua MacDonald, 40, was walking to a home on Bruce Street in Merrylands West on Wednesday afternoon when gunmen in a stolen Audi sedan opened fire, shooting him in the head and killing him instantly.
It is understood the electrical contractor was visiting the house, where occupants are allegedly ‘well known to police for organised crime activity’.
Police have confirmed that Mr MacDonald had no links to organised crime.
His grieving aunt and uncle, Darlene and Trevor Norton, called the incident ‘cold-blooded murder’ and revealed their nephew died after leaping in front of his best friend Nick Brown and his two young daughters.
Mr Brown told the Nortons that Mr MacDonald shielded the girls, who were arriving home from school when the shooting occurred, the family told 7News on Friday.
‘That’s Joshua all over. If he’d known those kids were in danger, (or if) anyone was in danger, he’d put himself in front (of them),’ Ms Norton said.
She shared a text message from Mr Brown praising his best friend and saying: ‘I am forever grateful for this beautiful soul. He is my children’s and my own guardian angel.’
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Joshua MacDonald, 40, was shot dead outside his best friend’s home in Merrylands West on Wednesday
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CCTV captured the shooting as police continue their search for the offenders
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Darlene Norton (pictured with Joshua) has described the death of her nephew, Mr MacDonald, as a ‘cold-blooded murder’
A day before Mr MacDonald was killed, multiple offenders entered a two-storey home in Glen Alpine, near Campbelltown in south-west Sydney, about 3.40am.
They fatally shot Marco Tapia, 23, in his bedroom while his family were home. He was not known to police and only had a traffic offence on his record.
No arrests have been made for the two killings. One line of inquiry for detectives is whether the suspected botched attacks were organised from overseas and carried out by young, local offenders.
However, the Nortons have questioned why authorities, including NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley, did not do more to prevent the tragedy, saying their nephew should still be alive.
‘Their car was sitting there for 90 minutes. If they (police) already knew that these people next door were being targeted, (then) they had a target on their shoulders,’ Ms Norton told 7News.
‘Why weren’t they patrolling those streets?’
CCTV footage later shared on TikTok captured the moment Mr MacDonald was shot, with the user captioning the video ‘Merrylands pew pew’.
The footage showed a gunman leaning from the rear window of a stolen grey Audi sedan and firing as the vehicle drove past the house. Those responsible remain on the run.
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Ms Norton said Mr MacDonald used his body as a shield to protect his best friend and two young daughters from the gunfire
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NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley said police and the state government had gun violence ‘under control’
Asked whether NSW Police were doing enough, Ms Norton said: ‘No, they could be doing so much more. So much more.
‘If it had happened to one of her (Catley’s) family, if it’s happening to any of their family members, I’m sure they’d change their mind.
‘But of course, it’s not happening to any of theirs. It’s all us poor families.’
Despite the back-to-back killings, senior NSW Government ministers have insisted the situation remains ‘under control’.
‘NSW Police are on top of this,’ Acting Premier Prue Car told reporters on Thursday.
Catley also insisted the police and NSW Government were managing the situation.
‘I do not accept this is out of control… we will not surrender our streets to organised crime gangs,’ she said this week, noting there is a new criminal model in Sydney.
‘Let’s be honest here… this is very challenging. Police are doing everything they can.’
Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the involvement of overseas-based criminals was making investigations more challenging.
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Marco Tapia, 23, was fatally shot in his bedroom after three masked men entered his Mount Sugarloaf Drive home
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Both shootings occurred in the same week and police are investigating whether they were cases of mistaken identity
‘(But) those that are committing these offences are onshore,’ Commissioner Lanyon said.
‘I need people to understand there are serious consequences for each and every one of these offences, and we won’t rest until we put them before the court.’
The commissioner said police would increase their presence across Sydney’s south-west while detectives continued their investigations.
When Ms Norton first heard the news of her nephew’s shooting, she said she refused to believe it was Mr MacDonald.
‘I thought it was another Joshua. And then I picked up my phone and just missed calls for the night,’ she said.
Ms Norton said her nephew was hardworking and kind-hearted, and recalled their final text exchange on his birthday – just days before the shooting.
‘Happy birthday, Josh. Hope you have a wonderful day. Love you. See you on the 13th of September. Kiss, kiss, kiss,’ she wrote.
His reply read: ‘Thank you. Can’t wait.’
SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16106895/joshua-macdonald-sydney-shooting-merrylands-tapia-mistaken-identity.html
