Tonight, a known gang figure is dead after he was executed this afternoon on Neal's Penn Road. 33-year-old Nicoli Rhys was well known to police as a part of the George Street gang, but this afternoon, he appeared to have been in the wrong area at the wrong time when a gunman caught him.

Just after lunchtime this afternoon, residents of Neal's Penn Road were startled when a barrage of gunshots were fired. They were even more shocked to see a man lying on the ground, a gunshot wound to his head.

But Nicoli Rhys didn't go down without a fight. He'd manage to run from where this bicycle is down the street, before he was finally killed.

Now police are looking for the gunman who fired the shots that caught not just Rhys, but another man as well.

ACP Hilberto Romero, OC, Eastern Division
"Upon the arrival, they learnt that two male persons were shot. They were immediately taken to the KHMH where one of them succumbed to his injuries at the KHMH. He has been identified as Nicoli Rhys and the other victim was shot to the foot and he was identified as Jervis Samuels."

One of them live here and Nicoli Rhys came to do some work on his car in this area.

Reporter:
"In terms of Jervis, was he innocently hit, and was Mr Rhys the target?"

Reporter:
"Numerous shots were fired, does it suggest that perhaps either Mr Rhys or Mr Samuels were pursued into the area where they were shot?"

ACP Hilberto Romero, OC, Eastern Division
"Yes, that is what the scene is showing, they were approached and they were trying to run away and they were followed by the shooter who then caught up to Nicoli Rhys up the street."

And one resident, who has dedicated his life to teaching youths to put down the guns, says he feels it's a disrespect to all the work he's done to try and keep his community safe.

Musa Shaheed, Founder, Drums Not Guns
"Foolishness, outright foolishness, broad daylight foolishness, disrespect to the Drums Not Guns movement. But anyways, I was back there through my hole, in my alley and I just hear dow dow dow dow dow and I crept outside and when I crept outside I saw the dude leaning down there so I came back home, got my phone, and I crept make out, made a dial, nobody was answering. Same time we saw a mobile coming, and the dude was moving, but I don't know if it was like… you know when you kill a sheep, it's still moving? I don't know if it was like that and so we just help the dude up, put him in the mobile, and they took him. I don't even know the dude. I don't know the dude, I don't know the situation, it's just foolish, honestly."

Reporter:
"Is the first time in a while that you've seen violence on this street?"

Musa Shaheed, Founder, Drums Not Guns
"Really, I'll be honest, it hasn't been that much of a long while but it's been some years since we've seen those gruesome lean-ups. Last time I saw a lean up like that was dude right there on the curve and that was probably five years ago or something. Or maybe less, I could be misjudging. But I don't know man, I personally, like I said, disrespect."

And though Rhys wasn't a resident of that area, those living there may feel reluctant to leave their homes. But Shaheed believes there's still hope to turn the community around.

Musa Shaheed, Founder, Drums Not Guns
"Modern warfare, used to it. I don't feel any way, still bringing my youths in. I have a vision of blocking off this entire block in time to come with 100 youths on this block with drums, stop your stupidness."

"Sooner or later, the neighborhood will change, we could start a community watch, a lot of respectable people live in this neighborhood. Like literally, I've said it before, I've talked to some of them before about it, it's like they just nod their head like what you're doing. We could change things, we just have to speak up and do more."