THREE men were cut down in targeted slayings yesterday, with two shot dead in busy Lygon Street while Chaouk clan leader Macchour was gunned down in his backyard, in Melbourne's west.
In a bloody Friday, homicide detectives were stretched to the limits with Chaouk, 65, killed at about 11am while two men, in their 60s or 70s, were murdered by a ''smiling'' gunman six hours later in Carlton.
Police had not linked the killings but said last night that it was too early to rule out any connection.
A man in his 50s was in police custody last night for the Carlton shootings, while detectives were questioning a 57-year-old man from Altona North in connection with Chaouk's murder.
Across the city, a gunman with a semi-automatic pistol appeared calm, ''happy'' and unworried as he picked out his targets outside gaming venue Players on Lygon, according to a witness.
The witness said the gunman pursued one of his victims inside the venue and shot him four times in the chest.
''He wasn't trying to disguise [his appearance] at all,'' he said. ''He was quite happy doing what he was doing. He … put the shells on the guy's chest.
''I saw him behind the police van. He was smiling''.
The witness said he tried to discourage the gunman but was told by the shooter: ''They're dogs, they're dogs, they tried to poison me''.
Other witnesses said there may have been up to eight shots fired, while some reported seeing a gunman running across the park in Argyle Place, off Lygon Street.
One witness said the shooter then chased another man across Lygon Street and through a park before returning to the bar and killing the second man.
A man, believed to be in his 50s, was arrested in the bar and was taken into custody by police. The Age
