POLICE are delving into the background of slain Sydney solicitor Ho Ledinh as they hunt the gunman who executed him at point-blank range.

Mr Ledinh was shot yesterday afternoon as he sat at table outside the Happy Cup Cafe at Bankstown City Plaza, in Sydney’s west.

Witnesses watched in horror as the gunman — without saying a word — walked up to him and opened fire before fleeing.

Homicide Squad Commander Detective Superintendent Scott Cook told media this morning investigators were exploring a number of lines of inquiries, including Mr Ledinh’s work as a criminal lawyer.

“He was a criminal solicitor, in the sense that that was his business to practice. He has a lot of clients who are engaged in organised crime and other offences so that is absolutely a line of inquiry in terms of his business.”

No suspects had been established yet and he was not aware of any threat to Mr Ledinh or his family before the murder.

“We’re searching for motives at the moment. Our focus at the moment is on speaking to witnesses who will provide that sort of detail ... It’s really important that we focus on getting the evidence that we can get as quickly as possible.”

Detectives attached to Strike Force Eugene, which has been set up to investigate the shooting, were also speaking to his family in the search for clues.

“We’re still learning about him, learning about his background outside of his business. That will take us some time and that will require us to engage with the family more deeply.”

Such a public killing would not be tolerated by police, he said.

“All murder is evil. It’s not acceptable. We don’t accept murders in this state, in this country. So this was deliberate. This was direct. This was targeted and planned.”

He added: “What we’re concerned about is finding the offender and arresting him. That’s really our concern. He is a danger to the community. He’s clearly prepared to use a firearm to kill someone and he needs to be locked up.”

Police wanted to hear from anyone at Bankstown Plaza who saw the shooting or the gunman running from the scene.

Mr Ledinh was shot at least four times. A post-mortem will be completed later today.

Det Supt Cook said the gunman was described as having an old complexion and of medium build. He was wearing a dark-coloured cap, dark sun glasses, a high-visibility vest, dark pants, dark shoes, and a rain coat that was either dark green or black in colour.

“Following the shooting, that man ran off down a laneway called Stuart Lane and was last seen running on Stuart Lane at Bankstown ... We’re seeking further witnesses to come forward. Particularly those witnesses who may have some video footage. It’s a highly populated and dense area and we’re hoping that whether it’s shop front video, whether it’s dash cam, whether it’s mobile phone video taken between 2:30pm and 4:00pm yesterday afternoon within the vicinity of Bankstown, particularly around the railway station, Restwell Street, Greenfield Road and Chapel Road, we would like to be provided with that video.”

CCTV footage, thought to be of the shooter, showed a man wearing a hi-vis jacket walking through Bankstown’s Old Centre Plaza. The footage was seized by police soon after the brazen attack.

The shooting wasn’t one the victim’s friend, Van Nguyen, 59, ever saw coming.

Mr Nguyen had met his friend for coffee at the cafe just hours earlier. By mid-afternoon, the cafe was a crime scene, and he was standing by the taped-off area wiping tears from his eyes.

“I couldn’t believe it ... I just met with him this morning,” Mr Nguyen said. “We were texting and he said, ‘Come meet me for coffee.’”

The pair met at the cafe, in Bankstown’s Saigon Place, for a catch-up late Tuesday morning, according to Mr Nguyen. He said his friend was in good spirits, albeit concerned about a heart condition he had been seeking treatment for.

Mr Nguyen told news.com.au he wasn’t previously aware of any threats to his mate’s life or related concerns. “He was a good man, perfect,” Mr Nguyen said.

“He was an international lawyer who travelled the world. We were friends for 25 years. Best friends.

“His job was horrible because he make some people happy and some not happy. Good money but, you know.”

It’s understood Mr Ledinh’s young wife and their three children left yesterday morning for Vietnam, just hours before the killing. A friend told media the couple met at the same cafe he was killed in, which he is believed to part own.

It was his second marriage and he is said to have adored her and their children.

Witnesses described hearing shots and screams, and seeing Mr Ledinh lying in a pool of blood as terrified bystanders sprinted away.

Graphic footage has emerged of him lying on the ground after he was shot. Police later placed a white sheet over two chairs to prevent the public from seeing his bloodied body.

One witness, who didn’t want to be named, told news.com.au that the gunman “just pulled the gun and shot it” without saying a word.

“(The victim) was just sitting at a table and the man pulled out a gun and went ‘boom, boom, boom’.”

Bankstown local Lisa Lee, 50, was at a cafe next door and heard “about three gunshots”.

“I ducked under the table then ran to the back of the cafe in the toilets,” she said. “When I came out the (victim) was lying on the ground.

“He wasn’t moving, there was blood all around him.”

Bystander Mathew Gibson, 44, was dropping his son at training when he “saw about 55 people running one way (towards Bankstown train station) and about 500 people running the opposite way”.

“They were shook up,” he told news.com.au. “The police took 15 minutes to get here and they are (based) only around the corner.”

A witness across the road said he heard three shots, but thought they were firecrackers. Then he saw the victim, who had been sitting outside, lying on the ground.

Mr Ledinh is survived by his wife and three children.

Officers are sifting through CCTV footage and speaking to witnesses to work out who the attacker was. “We have varying accounts that we want to confirm,” Supt Thorne said.

In June 2017, a man was stabbed in the chest in the same plaza. In April 2016, gangland kingpin Walid ‘Wally’ Ahmad’ was killed in a spray of bullets outside a cafe on the rooftop of nearby Bankstown Central shopping centre.

Police investigations are continuing.