How Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim’s mystery girlfriend miraculously escaped unscathed after her underworld lover was gunned down in a hail of bullets in front of her

The mystery girlfriend of slain Melbourne gangster Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim is lucky to be alive after she witnessed her underworld lover murdered in a hail of bullets.

Victoria Police confirmed a woman believed to be Abdulrahim’s girlfriend was in the firing line while her lover was shot multiple times but she miraculously survived. 

Abdulrahim, 32, was gunned down in the underground car park at Preston’s Quest Hotel in Melbourne’s north just after 10am on Tuesday.

Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said the unidentified woman performed CPR on Abdulrahim, but he died at the scene.

‘She did her best to render first aid,’ DI Thomas said.

The mystery flame was in shock but she was physically unscathed, despite multiple shots fired towards her and Abdulrahim. 

Married at First Sight star Jessika Power dated Abdulrahim but she ended the relationship over ‘fears about the underworld’.

Jessika broke down in tears over the execution-style killing of her ex-boyfriend, remembering him as a ‘great protector’.

The former Mongol bikie had a short-lived romance with the MAFS star in 2019, shortly after he was released from prison, where he had served time over a deadly high-speed crash.

But Jessika told Daily Mail Australia Abdulrahim had continued to support her behind the scenes, even up until a few months ago.

‘It’s been really, really hard to hear,’ Jessika said through tears.

The precision work of the shooter or shooters is something of a rarity in Melbourne’s gangland with criminals often bungling executions and catching innocent people in the crossfire so the woman count herself lucky to be alive tonight.

It’s not uncommon for criminals to target and kill the wrong person, which was the case when fruiterer Paul Virgona was gunned down on the Eastlink in the early hours of November, 2, 2019. 

Mongol bikies Aaron Ong and Josh Rider staked out Mr Virgona’s Croydon home for hours before following him as he left to pick up the day’s fruit and vegetable orders.

Ong and Rider pulled alongside Mr Virgona’s van and 11 shots were fired by the passenger from a semi-automatic handgun.

It’s not clear which of the men was the shooter and who was driving but it was ultimately ruled as a case of mistaken identity.

Feared underworld enforcer Gavin ‘Capable’ Preston, 50, was hit with 10 bullets at Sweet Lulus cafe at the Keilor Village in Melbourne’s north-west just before 10.30am on September 10, 2023.

The execution took place in front of Saturday morning cafe diners, shoppers and young families.

Abbas Maghnie Jr, son of slain underworld kingpin Nabil Maghnie, was with Preston and he got shot in the crossfire but it was a miracle no one else was shot.

Melbourne’s bloody history of brazen and public executions kicked off when former underworld heavy-hitter Jason Moran was murdered on June 21, 2003.

Moran was clipped in front of shocked parents and children watching a Saturday morning football clinic at Essendon in Melbourne’s north west on June 21, 2003.

Pasquale Barbaro who was with Moran at the time was also killed by stray bullets.

The woman who was with Abdulrahim in his final moments on Monday is very lucky but did she know her lover was former bikie turned boxer who had been the target of three murder contracts, a prison bashing, three assaults, a dozen fire bombings and seven shootings.

In one attempted hit, he was shot eight times and survived, and in another he escaped a barrage of bullets.

The 32-year-old former Mongol bikie had been living in hiding since two shootings at his former family home in Thomastown last year.

Abdulrahim’s sister Ektimal took to social media just hours after his death with a message for his killer.

‘Whoever shot my brother to death, I’m after u mother f***er,’ she wrote. ‘I know it’s u dog. Never ends here.’

Abdulrahim’s many enemies are believed to have included Middle-Eastern organised crime bosses Kazem Hamad and Ahmed Al Hamza.

Friends and family of the feared gangster converged outside the hotel, where he is believed to have been shot in the underground car park.

Police managed up to 40 loved ones at the crime scene, with some allowed to enter the car park to see Abdulrahim’s body.

Detectives believe he had only checked into the hotel where he died in the last day or two.

One man at the crime scene told Daily Mail Australia he had attempted to warn The Punisher not to leave the previous location he had been hiding out at.

‘He wasn’t scared, he wasn’t scared of anything, he always said ‘when my time comes, my time comes’,’ the man said.

Abdulrahim reportedly went into hiding in May 2024 after narrowly escaping an ambush outside his northern suburbs home, where gunmen shot at him 17 times.

It’s understood Abdulrahim’s actions along with feared prison boss George Marrogi sealed his doom.

Abdulrahim was linked to the 2016 murder of northern suburbs drug trafficker Kadir Ors by Marrogi outside Campbellfield Plaza.

Detectives believe a car fire in Reservoir just after 10.30am near the intersection of Northernhay and Alexandra Streets is linked to the crime.

A white Porsche SUV was found set alight and is suspected of being the getaway car used by the assassins.

Abdulrahim made headlines across Australia when he survived a brazen assassination attempt after a Melbourne funeral service.

Gunmen shot him eight times as he left his cousin’s funeral in Fawkner in June 2022.

In his last weeks alive, Abdulrahim was said to have become ‘something of a ghost’ as he moved between Melbourne, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

His luck finally ran out.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has dash cam, CCTV, or any information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.