Gunman threatens bystanders before gangland assassination in Wollert as family’s screams caught on camera

The screams of a family who came home to discover their father and husband had been murdered in a gangland execution have rung out on a Melbourne street.

The entire crime was caught on camera with two innocent men walking through the suburb of Wollert also unwittingly stumbling upon a gunman lying in wait, forcing them to run for their lives as he turned his weapon on them.

The two men accidentally surprised the gunman preparing to kill Ali Albadri, 42, at his home on Gypsum Dr in Wollert, Melbourne’s north, about 5.30pm on Thursday.

Albadri, understood to be a key figure in Kaz Hamad’s tobacco syndicate, was killed in the daylight ambush, the latest hit in Melbourne’s escalating Middle Eastern crime wars.

“This sort of criminal activity is just abhorrent,” Detective Acting Inspector Paul Scarlett from the Homicide Squad said.

Albadri’s wife and children arrived home moments after, making the grim discovery together.

“The children thought it was a prank. Screaming and crying on the street. Her family was living nearby and they just came to try and console her,” a neighbour said.

“We are looking at possible links to organised crime and I can’t say that it’s limited to Victoria,” Detective Acting Inspector Scarlett said.

7NEWS understands the victim was a high-ranking member of Kaz Hamad’s Commission syndicate.

“I’m not aware of any information that suggested that this male was at risk,” Detective Acting Inspector Scarlett said.

Kaz Hamad’s syndicate is behind Melbourne’s relentless firebombing attacks and suspected over a drive-by shooting in Caroline Springs earlier this week.

The syndicate has also been linked to the ambush murders of Sam ‘the Punisher’ Abdulrahim and Athan Boursinos.

“The homicide squad will do all that we can to bring that person or those people before the courts,” Detective Acting Inspector Scarlett said.

7NEWS understands the gunman was parked waiting outside Albadri’s home for five hours. That vehicle has been seized for forensic testing.