Melbourne boxer Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim survives second shooting in two years

Victoria police confirm man, 32, was not wounded when shots fired in Thomastown on Friday morning.

A former Mongols bikie has survived a shooting in suburban Melbourne, two years after an assassination attempt outside a cemetery.

Shots were fired at Suleiman “Sam” Abdulrahim, a professional boxer who goes by the name “The Punisher”, as he left his Thomastown home early on Friday morning.

Victoria police confirmed a number of shots were fired in the direction of a 32-year-old man as he left a Larch Street property.

Police said he was not wounded and no arrests have been made.

Bullet casings were strewn on the road outside the security camera-clad home as armed crime squad members combed for clues.

Two cars were set alight on Barrow Street in Brunswick about 15 minutes before the 3am shooting, with police probing whether the fires are linked to the attack.

“Police believe both incidents were targeted and the investigation remains ongoing,” a police spokesperson said.

It was the second shooting attempt on the former bikie, who was ambushed in his Mercedes as he was leaving a funeral in Fawkner in June 2022.

He suffered four bullet wounds to his chest but managed to drive to a nearby police station to seek help.

Two suspects fled the country within 48 hours of the attack.

In February, Abdulrahim was due to fight at the Furlan Club at Thornbury in Melbourne’s north before the venue was set alight.skip past newsletter promotion

Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it matters

He was jailed for more than three years in 2018 after killing a grandmother in a crash.

Abdulrahim was released on parole in 2019 with time served, but it was revoked six months later by the parole board over concerns he was in danger.

The board’s decision was later overturned in the Victorian supreme court, which found Abdulrahim had done nothing to warrant his parole being revoked.

Source: The Guardian