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# Sydney police minister denies gang violence 'out of control' after two fatal shootings
- URL: https://www.theglobalvoice.com/sydney-police-minister-denies-gang-violence-out-of-control-after-two-fatal-shootings/
- Published: 2026-09-03T11:25:10.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-05T06:40:25.000Z
- Description: NSW police minister says force has resources to tackle gangs despite two fatal shootings in consecutive days believed to be mistaken identity cases.
- Author: TGV Desk
- Tags: conflict, The Day So Far, oceania

New South Wales Police Minister Yasmin Catley has rejected suggestions that gang violence is “out of control” in Sydney after two people with no known criminal backgrounds were shot dead in suspected cases of mistaken identity within two days.

The latest victim, 40-year-old electrician Joshua Macdonald, was shot outside a home in Merrylands West on Wednesday afternoon. Police said Macdonald was not known for criminal activity, although the property where the attack occurred was associated with people known to police for organised crime links. Investigators believe he may not have been the intended target.

His killing came just a day after 23-year-old biomedical engineering student Marco Tapia was shot dead during a home invasion at Glen Alpine in south-west Sydney. Tapia was reportedly in bed when armed men entered his family home early Tuesday. Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said Tapia appeared to be an innocent victim and that investigators were treating mistaken identity as a likely explanation.

The two deaths have intensified scrutiny of Sydney's ongoing underworld violence. Police say the Merrylands killing could represent the sixth innocent victim of the city's gang conflict in the past 18 months, while 41 murders have been attributed to underworld violence since fighting linked to the drug trade began in 2020.

Despite the escalating concerns, Catley insisted authorities had not lost control of the streets.

“We will not be surrendering our streets,” she said, arguing that NSW Police had the resources and powers necessary to confront organised crime.

Police say criminal networks are increasingly recruiting young, inexperienced offenders, sometimes through encrypted communications, to carry out attacks for relatively small payments. A specialist police task force targeting organised crime has made around 800 arrests over the past year.

Authorities have pledged additional police resources as investigations into both killings continue.