Underworld figure Sam Abdulrahim shot dead on Melbourne street

Melbourne underworld figure Sam Abdulrahim, also known as "The Punisher," has been shot and killed in the city's northeast. Emergency services were called to a car park on High Street in Preston at around 10:30 am following reports of a shooting and subsequently attended the scene.

Police have stated that the deceased has not been formally identified, but 9News understands the victim to be Abdulrahim. A large police presence is currently in the area, with officers patrolling the scene, and High Street has been completely closed off. A black Mercedes has been abandoned by the side of the road.

Homicide detectives are investigating the incident and believe it was a targeted shooting. The former Mongols bikie member has been the subject of multiple attempted assassinations over the past three years. In May 2024, Abdulrahim survived a shooting outside his home on Laragh Street in Thomastown.

He also survived an assassination attempt in June 2022 at Fawkner Cemetery, where he was shot five times in the chest and abdomen. At the time, he was driving a luxury Mercedes to his cousin's funeral when a Mazda pulled alongside him on Box Forest Road in Fawkner and someone opened fire on his chest. The gunmen fled the scene, later carjacking a mother and her four-year-old son.

Abdulrahim attempted to drive himself to Fawkner police station for help before being rushed to hospital. Days after that attempted assassination, Abdulrahim taunted his rivals from his hospital bed, writing: “Allah is greater than all these losers. They will get what’s coming to them.” He had also been attacked twice in 2019, including being stoned in prison. According to The Age, it's understood the former Mongols bikie member had been in hiding to avoid a $1 million bounty placed on his head.

Further updates will follow.