The killers then fled the scene in a white Porsche, which was shortly afterwards found on fire in at the intersection of Northernhay and Alexandra Streets.
Police believe a second vehicle, a grey Ford Ranger with a canopy, is also linked to the crime.
The car, which had a distinctive sticker of bull horns on the rear window of the canopy, was found burnt out on Western Avenue in Westmeadows.
“Detectives believe both these vehicles are linked to the shooting in Preston and are keen to speak to anyone who may have seen them travelling through the area in the lead up to and after the incident,” police said.
Attack unfolded in hotel carpark
The 32-year-old was shot in the head while walking with his girlfriend.
She was physically unharmed but traumatised, police said, and was assisting with the investigation.
Police previously said they believed more than one person was involved in Abdulrahim’s death.
The masthead this morning reported that those sources established that a team of four gunmen lay in wait for the former Mongol bikie after the location of his latest hideout was leaked.
The same sources said Abdulrahim was shot multiple times, including twice in the head.
He had only checked into the hotel one or two days before, according to The Age.
Abdulrahim is understood to have been in hiding with a $1 million bounty on his head, after multiple attempts on his life.
New video has also emerged, purportedly of a recent phone conversation Abdulrahim had with underworld figure Kazem Hamad, who is believed to be in the Middle East.
“Eight shots later and I’m still alive,” Abdulrahim is heard saying, an apparent reference to an assassination attempt at a funeral in June 2022.
In that attack, Abdulrahim was shot eight times, including in the chest.
Hamad, allegedly a key figure in Melbourne’s ongoing illicit tobacco wars, replies that Abdulrahim has survived through “luck”.
9news.com.au is not suggesting Hamad was involved in Abdulrahim’s death.
Police have played down fears of retaliation over the attack.