Confronting CCTV footage has shown the moment a major underworld figure is shot dead while eating breakfast at a shopping village in Melbourne.
Feared crime figure Gavin ‘Capable’ Preston, 50, was killed in the daylight shooting at Sweet Lulus cafe at the Keilor Village in the city’s north-west on Saturday.
The 40-second clip shows a hooded man in all-black sprints towards the cafe’s outdoor seating area and fires a flurry of bullets in Preston’s direction.
Terrified diners throw themselves to the ground and cover their faces as the underworld boss slumps in his seat and falls to the ground beside his table.
As the gunman sprints away, two women check each other for injuries before grabbing their handbags and escaping the cafe.
Two men are seen cautiously approaching Preston, who remains motionless beside the table where just seconds earlier he had been eating breakfast.
It’s understood Preston was shot 10 times while eating a meal with Abbas Maghnie Junior, known as AJ, the son of crime figure and Preston associate Nabil Maghnie.
Abbas Junior was able to flee the table just seconds before shots were fired after he appeared to spot the gunman approaching from a nearby carpark.
Victoria Police confirmed one man had been killed and another had been shot in the stomach during the shooting which occurred at about 10.20am on Saturday.
Underworld figure Gavin ‘Capable’ Preston has been shot dead at Sweet Lulu’s cafe at Keilor Village in Melbourne’s north-west this morning
The 40-second clip shows a man in all-black sprints towards the cafe’s outdoor seating area and fires a flurry of bullets in Preston’s direction
Preston’s distraught fiancé Lauran Howe arrived at the cafe in the aftermath of the shooting and had to be restrained by officers.
Another man, also known to Preston, was pinned to the ground by police.
It’s believed the alleged shooters fled the scene in a car.
Two burnt-out cars were found after the shooting, including one near the scene.
It’s believed the assailants abandoned a black Audi Q5 in nearby Blair Court before departing in a second car.
Detectives from the homicide squad along with police and emergency crews attended the scene on Saturday morning.
It’s believed Preston was shot 10 times while he was eating a meal with a close relative of crime figure Nabil Maghnie
A man and woman (pictured) who are believed to be known to Preston arrived at the scene in the aftermath of the shooting and appeared to argue with police
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A man is restrained by police at the scene of Gavin Preston’s shooting in Keilor Village
Preston, nicknamed ‘Capable’ because he was considered ‘capable of anything’ was one of Melbourne’s most violent and feared gangland figures.
He later had the moniker tattooed on his neck.
Preston was released from jail in February after he spent 11 years behind bars over the death of drug trafficker Adam Khoury, who was shot in 2012.
He had a significant rap sheet of violent offences, including armed robbery and the use of weapons, dating back to when he was 18-years-old.
The crime figure is suspected of being involved in the death of former bikie Toby Mitchell and had allegedly plotted to kill Mick Gatto.
A local shop owner said he was having coffee when he heard ‘chaos’ in the street.
‘I didn’t hear any shots but I heard the sirens and everyone rushing over,’ he told the Herald Sun.
‘What has this country come to? Last night (the Bourke St incident) and now this.
‘It’s crazy.’
A motorbike is seen as Victoria Police work at the scene of Saturday morning’s shooting at Sweet Lulus Cafe at Keilor Village in Melbourne’s north-west
Sweet Lulus cafe in Melbourne’s north-west was rocked by a shooting on Saturday morning, which claimed the life of feared underworld figure Gavin ‘Capable’ Preston
Police and underworld figures had been on alert since Preston’s release in February.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton was asked to address the incident while giving a press conference with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews about the horror crash in Bourke St on Friday night.
He told reporters he believed one man had died and another was shot in the stomach, and that the offenders had fled the scene and remained at large.
It was reported Preston had prepared for his release from prison by reaching out to old enemies to assure them he would not be looking to settle old scores.
‘No one’s buying the story he wants a quiet life,’ a source told The Age.
‘He’s always been mad, and that’s not going to change. There’s been a heap of talk and there’s a few people who’d obviously prefer he was still there inside.’
