Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim: Suspected getaway ute in gangland shooting found burnt out
A second suspected getaway vehicle linked to the execution-style shooting of gangland figure Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim has been discovered torched.
The former Mongols bikie was walking with his girlfriend when he was gunned down in a Preston apartment block’s underground car park in Melbourne’s north on Tuesday morning.
The 32-year-old from Thomastown, who had survived at least half a dozen assassination attempts and recently returned to Melbourne from overseas, died at the scene.
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A grey Ford Ranger with a distinctive sticker of bull horns on the ute’s canopy rear window has since been located in Western Avenue at Westmeadows and was also set ablaze, police confirmed on Wednesday.
Both are thought to be linked to the brazen daylight shooting, with police calling for anyone who may have seen either car travelling through the area or with dash-cam footage to come forward.
Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas indicated investigators are working on the theory the ute was used as a second getaway vehicle.
“The offenders may have got into (it) after they’d burnt the Porsche,” he told Melbourne radio station Nova.
“We’re working on the belief that that is involved, given the timing and location.”
The homicide detective said he was concerned about retaliatory attacks but reassured the community there was no suggestion of any more violence.
Detectives are still piecing together how many people were involved in the ambush, sifting through CCTV.
Abdulrahim had survived multiple attempts on his life.
In May 2024, shots were fired at his Thomastown home, injuring the bikie-turned-boxer and in August the house was set alight.
He survived a shooting at Fawkner in June 2022.
He was jailed for more than three years in 2018 after killing a grandmother in a crash and was attacked with a rock while in prison.
Abdulrahim was released on parole in 2019 with time served, but had it revoked six months later by the parole board when police feared he was the target of three firearm incidents.
In February 2024, arsonists targeted two Melbourne venues in the lead-up to a fight Abdulrahim was due to be in.
