THE VICTIM WAS TARGETED..! — POLICE ‘OUT IN FORCE’ AS CHILLING DETAILS EMERGE AFTER BOXING COACH SH-OT D-EAD IN SYDNEY, WITH MORE THAN 1,000 OFFICERS JOINING CITY-WIDE MANHUNT…
Police ‘out in force’ as fresh details emerge after boxing coach shot dead in Sydney
More than 1000 officers are taking part in a city-wide manhunt to track down the gunman.
A city-wide manhunt is underway for a lone gunman who killed a boxing coach in what police believe was a “targeted” attack.
The gunman fired a number of shots at 32-year-old Louis Meehan in the carpark outside of the Punchbowl Community Centre on Rossmore Ave in Punchbowl about 5.50pm on Wednesday.
Meehan was gravely injured in the attack and died soon after while the shooter drove off in a stolen Lexus found by police later that night in Bass Hill, about 8km northwest.
Police confirmed that Meehan had a history with both NSW and Queensland Police, but are still inquiring about the extent of his links to underworld crime groups including Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMCG).
It makes the shooting the third with underworld links in Sydney recently, leading to a major response from police.
“The State Crime Command and South West Region are out in force today in relation to this murder,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Grant Taylor told reporters on Thursday.
“We hope to think that we will have some significant lines of inquiry as a result of our canvassing and our response this morning.”
Taylor said NSW Police are working with their counterparts in Queensland, where Meehan is believed to have spent more time, to understand the nature of his past offences.
Meehan was part of the Sydney Roosters’ NRL system when he was younger but never played a game as a professional player.
He would go on to become a boxing coach, following in the footsteps of his Australian heavyweight boxing champion father Kali Meehan and brother Willis Meehan who played one game for the Roosters before having a 12-0 boxing career that ended in 2019.
Enquiries into his death are currently revolving around why he was in Sydney and what influenced the brazen murder.
Shooting lacks ‘hallmarks’ of recent attacks
While the shooting is the third in Sydney in the past week, Taylor said police don’t believe it is linked to an ongoing feud between two gangs that has sparked recent attacks.
“This shooting does not have the same hallmarks as the other shootings that have occurred over the last several months,” he said.
“It appears to be an individual, one person acting alone at this stage.”
One of the “hallmarks” missing from Meehan’s killing was the state of the Lexus when it was found by police.
Gangland shootings in Sydney have become highlighted by so-called “kill cars” stolen for the sole purpose of the shooting only to be set alight to destroy any evidence.
But Taylor said the Lexus was found undamaged, a point which police hope will “get some good forensics as a result” during an examination on Thursday morning.
He added that police are searching for a potential second getaway car used by the gunman in order to evade police.
“It’s something that we’ve become very successful in in regards to the tracking of the vehicles across Sydney,” Taylor said.
“I hope to think that we will be successful with this murder as we have been with other murders.”
Claim of “out of control” crime wave muddied
In the wake of the attack, state opposition leader Kellie Sloane took aim at Police Minister Yasmin Catley for her stance that the government had a handle on crime..
“People across Sydney would understandably be fearful after reports of another suspected underworld shooting, this time in a public car park directly opposite a primary school,” Sloane said.
“This latest killing exposes the gulf between the Minns Labor Government’s reassurances and the violence unfolding on Sydney’s streets.
“(Catley) needs to front up and explain how she can continue to claim organised crime is not out of control.”
While Taylor agreed that having a number of shooting in such a small time frame is “always concerning”, he said more than 1000 officers are currently working on bringing an end to it.
“It always looks like crime is out of control, but when you look at it, we’re on track,” he said.
“We always have about eight organised crime murders a year. We’ve had six and then last night we’ve made seven.
“We are basically on track what we always have in regards to these murders.”
He added that organised crime is “always going to be part and parcel of life in a big metropolis” such as Sydney and that the recent spate of attacks was “no different”.
