A man from Sydney, who was violently killed in a quiet inner west street on Sunday night, reportedly had no ties to the city’s criminal underworld, as stated by his friends.

Gilbert Shino, aged 39, was shot multiple times at 6:35 pm while walking from the Harold pub in Forest Lodge to his vehicle on Sunday night. Police are treating the incident as a potential gangland killing.

His friend, Maradona Yalda, 31, was also shot but survived his injuries.

Mr. Yalda, currently in hospital recovering, had returned to Australia just four days before the incident and, according to police sources, was ‘aware’ of a contract targeting him.

Mr. Yalda is believed to have connections with an Assyrian street gang known as DLASTHR, along with former Comanchero biker Andre Kallita, who is no longer affiliated with the club.

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Mr Yalda.

However, a close friend of Mr. Shino, who worked alongside him for eight years at Capital Smart car repairs, confirmed on Tuesday that he had no ties to criminal gangs.

Milan Toma, who now owns building company Blueprint Master Projects, said Mr Shino had recently worked a weekend for him. 

“He was a diligent worker. Why would he need to labor so hard just to cover his expenses if he were involved in those things [gangs]?” Mr. Toma stated to the Daily Mail.

Mr Toma, who was distraught over the loss of his friend and colleague, said he was close with Mr Shino but that they had not spent time together socially in some time.

He could not explain why Mr Shino and Mr Yalda chose to travel to the Harold to watch UFC, given it was a 45-minute drive from the Middleton Grange home Mr Shino shared with his wife and two daughters. 

Meanwhile, massive donations have flooded in to a GoFundMe appeal raising money for Mr Shino’s wife Natasha Avakian and their two young daughters Montana and Isla.

Mr Shino and Ms Avakian last year suffered a miscarriage of a baby they named Marley.

Mr Toma personally donated $5,000 to the fundraiser, which has so far collected more than $67,000 of its $100,000 goal in less than 24 hours. 

‘I feel very sorry for his family,’ he said. ‘Gibs was a very positive person who adored his girls. It’s a big loss.’

Many people with the surname Yalda – thought to be Maradona’s family members – have made several large donations to the fund.

A man named James Yalda contributed $2500, while a woman named Natalie Yalda donated $300.

In setting up the appeal, fundraiser organiser Ashie Mikael said: ‘This GoFundMe has been created to help support his wife and daughters during this unimaginable time. 

‘While nothing can take away the pain, we hope to ease some of the heavy burden they now face.

‘Our beloved Gilby… was a devoted husband and a loving father to two beautiful girls who adored him more than anything in this world. 

‘His family was his everything, and he would have moved mountains to make sure they were cared for and loved.

‘To his friends and family, he was more than just someone we loved – he was the life of the party, always smiling, always lifting others up, and always there when you needed him.’

 Widow Ms Avakian shared an emotional tribute to her slain partner last night.

‘How am I going to live without you? You were my life,’ she posted to Instagram.

In a comment on Facebook, she wrote, ‘Why did you leave us?’ with a heartbreak emoji. 

Daily Mail has reached out to Ms Avakian for comment.

A separate post revealed his family would be accepting condolences at St Mary’s Assyrian Church of the East in Smithfield on Tuesday evening, with funeral arrangements to follow.

Mr Shino died at the scene on Sunday night, despite the efforts of paramedics and an off-duty doctor.

It is understood he worked at Capital Smash Repairs, and grew up in Western Sydney. 

According to his Facebook profile, he attended St John’s Park High School in Greenfield Park.

A Middleton Grange neighbour on Monday told Daily Mail that Mr Shino was extremely friendly and would always say hello, while his wife was more reserved.

The neighbour said he had seen police visiting the couple’s home, but that no one answered the door.

He added that their blue Mazda hatchback was missing from the driveway.

Police are investigating whether a torched Ford Mustang, found in Rydalmere at 9.50pm on Monday night, is linked to the shooting, although no connections have been made at this stage.

The gunman behind the ‘outrageous, brazen, callous attack’ remains on the run on Tuesday. No arrests have been made.

Police are investigating a number of motives, including whether the shooting is related to an internal dispute among Assyrian gang members.

They’re also looking at potential links to a recent firebombing in Sydney’s west.

Police also revealed that Mr Yalda and his friend had just left the pub when they were ambushed.

‘They were making their way to the car, which was parked about 100m up the road,’ Leichhardt Superintendent Alf Sergi told 2GB’s Ben Fordham on Monday.

‘As they got closer to the vehicle, they appear to have been ambushed. Shots fired.

‘The 39-year-old male, he suffered gunshot wounds and fell to the ground.

‘Police were nearby… they treated the man with the help of a doctor that was a resident nearby, and also paramedics, but unfortunately he succumbed to his wounds.’

Mr Yalda was chased by the gunman before shots were fired.

A man standing near Mr Shino could be heard on the phone shouting, ‘he’s my best friend’.

The gastropub was packed with patrons enjoying dinner at the time.

Staff locked the entrance as people sheltered under tables while dozens of shots were fired outside.

A car parked outside the venue, which opened in 1880, on Ross Street was hit by several bullets.

‘A bullet did hit a window and narrowly missed a female staff member… it’s a narrow street there, and also the pub nearby, obviously the bullets were flying in that direction. It would have been very, very frightening for them,’ Superintendent Sergi said.

‘We believe it’s a targeted attack based on one of the victim’s backgrounds with possible links to organised criminal networks.’

Police haven’t ruled out more than one gunman being involved.

‘At this stage it is not clear, so we’re working on the principle that it’s one gunman, but there’s possibly more,’ Superintendent Sergi said.

‘We’re looking for a vehicle, a dark-coloured vehicle… we’re really looking forward to the public giving us information, especially dashcam, to help put the pieces of the puzzle together.’

Local residents were told to stay inside their homes as police scoured the area and sealed off the crime scene.

State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad is assisting detectives with the investigation.

It is the 13th public shooting and the fourth fatal attack across Sydney in the last eight months.

Not all victims have had underworld links. Plumber John Versace was executed in his driveway in Condell Park in a case of mistaken identity.

Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers.