Double shooting ... family and friends comfort each other at the scene in Wetherill Park. Photo: AAP
A SENIOR member of the Hells Angels motorcycle club was gunned down in his western Sydney business on Tuesday afternoon in a violent altercation that also left another club member with a bullet wound.
Zeljko ''Steve'' Mitrovic, 45, was at his Wetherill Park transport business when he was confronted by a gunman at about 3.50pm. He died at the scene and one of his employees, a 31-year-old driver and fellow Hells Angel member known as Mike, was rushed to hospital with wounds to his arm.
Police and detectives at the scene of a double shooting at Wetherill Park in Sydney. Photo: Mick Tsikas
The area around Dynamic Transport, Mr Mitrovic's transport logistics business, was sealed off and the state's Homicide Squad has begun an investigation.
A senior police officer confirmed Mr Mitrovic was a member of the Hells Angels but would not be drawn on whether the motive for the shooting was related to outlaw motorcycle gang dealings.
Mr Mitrovic had a lengthy criminal record and ''had been out of jail for a while'', according to a police source.
A policeman at the scene of the shooting. Photo: Mick Tsikas
He appeared in court in 2007 on assault and affray charges alongside the former Hells Angels boss, Derek Wainohu, who was involved in a fatal brawl with the Comanchero at Sydney Airport in 2009. Mr Wainohu was later cast aside by the bikie gang but Mr Mitrovic remained an active senior member.
Despite his colourful past, he was described as a compassionate boss by his employees, who hugged each other and shed tears at the crime scene in Hassall Street on Tuesday night.
''He's a good bloke, a good boss to work for,'' said a driver, Allan Brown. ''If you ever needed help he was there to help you.''
He had two young sons and a daughter, the eldest being 13.
''His kids are beautiful, his wife is beautiful,'' Mr Brown said.
Distraught family members would only say that he was a father, a husband and ''a great guy''.
They were ushered into the restricted crime scene area in front of the business and company employees wearing orange uniforms were seen hugging each other nearby.
''They're a mess,'' said one friend at the scene.
There were more than 125 shootings in Sydney last year, about 20 of them occurring in the past three months.
