A Lebanese father of six was killed in an "execution-style" shooting in the Australian city of Melbourne overnight, Lebanese state media reported.
The National News Agency said that Khaled Yehya Abu Hasna, from the northern district of Akkar, was shot dead when he was heading back to his home around 2 a.m. in Melbourne.
Meanwhile, The Age, an Australian newspaper based in the southeastern city, reported that a “father of six from Middle Eastern descent” was shot dead at 1:50 a.m. in the town of Altona Meadows.
The 39-year-old man was inside his car in the driveway of his mother’s house when the murder happened, the report said.
The mayor of Meshmesh, from which Abou Hasna hailed, confirmed in a phone call with The Daily Star that Abou Hasna had six children from two wives.
He said the victim had been living in Australia since birth and only came on occasional visits to Lebanon.
“His father took a plane to Australia last night after receiving the news,” Mayor Abdel-Rahman Ali al-Hajj said.
Local police, who have yet to publish the man’s identity, described the shooting as “execution style killing” and "targeted attack,” The Age said. They said the man was shot “multiple times.”
Although no eyewitnesses were at the scene at the time of the shooting, neighbors heard screeching tires as the getaway car sped away, Homicide Detective Sergeant Sol Solomon said.
"At this stage, we have no suspects we've identified and the investigation will continue on throughout the day," he told The Age.
