Third person charged linked to mistaken identity murder

Detectives have charged a third person connected with a mistaken identity killing that appears to be a gangland execution gone wrong, but the hunt for the shooter continues.

Joshua Macdonald, 40, was gunned down at his home in Merrylands West on September 2, with police insisting he was not the intended target.

A 21-year-old man was arrested on Thursday morning and charged with murder, participating in a criminal group and failure to comply with a digital evidence access order direction.

Police allege the man took the shooters to and from their vehicles both before and after the attack, as well as the individuals who later destroyed those vehicles.

Previously, police charged an 18-year-old after finding evidence on a drone they said suggested involvement in the shooting, and a 28-year-old woman accused of conducting surveillance for the gunman and helping them escape.

No individual has yet been charged for carrying out the shooting itself.

It took place one day after another mistaken identity shooting, in which attackers forced their way into a home at southwestern Glen Alpine and fatally shot 23-year-old university student Marco Tapia.

Two teenage boys, aged 14 and 16, were later arrested in connection with Mr Tapia's murder, with police alleging they supplied a weapon and carried out a clean-up after the fact.

Mr Macdonald's death was at least the fifth suspected mistaken identity killing in NSW since May 2025.

While concern has been expressed that leaders based overseas are ordering the attacks, officials have insisted the situation is not out of hand.

"I do not accept this is out of control ... we will not surrender our streets to organised crime gangs," Police Minister Yasmin Catley told reporters following Mr Macdonald's murder.