Man injured in drive-by shooting at well-known Haddara hangout

A man was injured overnight in a drive-by shooting at a cafe in Melbourne’s west that is a well-known hangout for the Haddara crime family and their associates, according to a police source.

Police are investigating Friday night’s non-fatal shooting, which happened about 7.15pm in Borrack Square in Altona North.

The victim, who is yet to be identified, was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A police source with close knowledge of the situation, but unable to speak publicly, said the wounded man was also shot on a previous occasion.

Police are now investigating whether the shooting is linked to last week’s shooting of gangland boss Fadi Haddara, which happened nearby.

No arrests have been made over Haddara’s shooting, and police were told the offender or offenders left the scene in a vehicle.

Haddara, 48, was found lying in a pool of blood by a family member next to a parked car in his driveway in Marigold Avenue, near Millers Road, before 8pm on Sunday.

Police said that attack was targeted and are on alert for retaliatory attacks, but are keeping an open mind about the shooting’s connection to Melbourne’s illicit tobacco war.

On May 12, shots were fired into a tobacco store in Borrack Square just after 5.30pm. A 49-year-old man was shot twice in the arm and taken to a hospital, and police suspected the shooting was linked to the tobacco war.