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An underworld figure miraculously drove himself to a hospital after being shot in the head on Thursday.
It is understood Nabil Maghnie, previously investigated for shooting former bikie Toby Mitchell, was shot at least twice through the front windscreen of the 2013 Holden Commodore he was driving.
Police don't yet know where in Melbourne the shooting took place, but detectives say the 40-year-old drove himself to the Northern Hospital in Epping at 1.20am on Thursday.
He was transferred to the Royal Melbourne in a critical, but stable condition.
Man drives himself to hospital in Epping after being shot. @ChristineAhern #9News https://t.co/rlTQD0a8UU— Nine News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) September 21, 2016
Armed crime Detective Inspector Steve Clark said the man had been shot at least twice, once to the head and once to the body.
"Notwithstanding it's at the very early stages of the investigation, the man is known to police, we do not believe this to be a random attack," Inspector Clark said.
Why Maghnie, who has previously been shot in the groin, was targeted is also unknown.
He'd previously been investigated for shooting Mitchell, the former Bandidos enforcer, outside a Brunswick gym in 2011. Maghnie was investigated alongside Gavin Preston, who is in jail after shooting a drug dealer dead.
Maghnie also has links to the Comancheros gang, who were suspected of being behind the recent arson attacks and drive-by shootings at strip club Kittens.
Detectives are still investigating into where the latest shooting took place.
"If we can establish a crime scene, that's of significant value to us. If anybody heard any gunshots, saw any suspicious activity, saw that blue car at any stage, we're very keen to hear from them," Inspector Clark said.
Last week, Fairfax Media published its investigation into the unprecedented wave of shootings that have occurred in Melbourne with gun crime doubling since 2011 and more than 100 shootings in the last 20 months.
Most, police said, stem from a thriving gun culture among young men willing to use guns to settle trivial disputes, drug debt and drug trafficking territory.
New laws that focus on gun trafficking and increasing police powers, mirroring the same laws NSW put in place when the state experienced a similar rise, are likely to be introduced.
The federal government confirmed last week it would roll-out a fresh gun amnesty, the first national effort of its kind since the Port Arthur massacre.
