Hampton Park: Shocking new footage shows the horrific volley of gunfire before the innocent father-to-be was gunned down in what is believed to be a case of mistaken identity – as his parents brand their son's evil killers 'cowards'

Dramatic footage captured moments before an innocent man was shot dead in a suspected drive-by shooting has been released by detectives.

Expectant father and craftsman Aaron Toth, 30, was found with a fatal gunshot wound in a Volkswagen Golf on Bride Avenue in Hampton Park, Melbourne's south-east, shortly after midnight on Saturday, April 27.

On Monday, his parents appeared before the media to brand his killers as cowards.

“They left him, the cowards, to die on the side of the road,” said Kim, Mr Toth’s mother.

“There must be someone out there who knows something. He didn't deserve that death, nobody deserves that.”

Investigators believe that the carpenter's death was the result of a tragic case of mistaken identity.

He had just returned home from Melbourne's central business district when he was gunned down in his car.

His killers fled in a stolen Ford Ranger pickup truck, which was found burnt out at 2:30 a.m. in Sweeny Reserve in Berwick, about 9 km from the crime scene.

Aaron Toth was pronounced dead at the scene; Victoria Police are investigating (pictured: officers at the scene)

Homicide detectives have released video footage of a number of incidents in which shots were fired leading up to the Hampton Park tragedy.

In the first incident, a stolen black Audi Q7 SUV, a black Volkswagen Golf GTI hatchback and a white Toyota Camry sedan were caught driving at a high rate of speed on the Parkway in Hampton Park at 9:21 p.m. on Friday, April 26.

The black Volkswagen was seen driving onto the meadow. Then two shots were heard before all three vehicles sped away.

At 10:50 p.m., a stolen white Mitsubishi Outlander SUV was captured on surveillance camera chasing a stolen black Audi Q7 through Andrew Street, David Street and Jeffrey Street in Hampton Park.

As the vehicles drove at high speed down Jeffrey Street, surveillance cameras captured a person leaning out the passenger window of the white Mitsubishi Outlander and firing a shot as it drove behind the black Audi Q7.

The sound of 14 shots could be heard.

At 11:36 p.m., the black Audi Q7 drove into the driveway of a residential building on Grammar Way in Hampton Park.

Two men, both wearing light-colored trousers and hoodies, got out of the vehicle with canisters in their hands.

Both men emptied the canisters onto the Audi, set it on fire and fled the scene in a dark sedan waiting nearby.

The vehicle has not yet been identified.

Mr. Toth was shot at 12:24 a.m. on Saturday in his vehicle, which was parked in front of a house on Bride Avenue in Hampton Park.

Investigators found that he had travelled alone from Melbourne's CBD and had only arrived at the address a minute earlier.

He was not involved in the previous incidents in the Hampton Park area and his death is being treated as a case of mistaken identity.

A surveillance camera recorded a stolen grey Ford Ranger turning left from Pound Road onto Bride Avenue and then continuing south on Bride Avenue.

Passengers in the vehicle shot at his vehicle as they drove past, fatally injuring him.

A 21-year-old man from Cranbourne North was charged with murder in June.

Police have recovered this burnt-out wreckage, which was probably used in the alleged murder

Another vehicle seized by the police is linked to the shootings

One of the destroyed vehicles

At 2:27am, the white Mitsubishi Outlander and the grey Ford Ranger Utility drove in convoy to Sweeney Reserve, Berwick.

The Ford Ranger Utility was set on fire and the Mitsubishi Outlander was used to flee the scene.

Investigators believe that all incidents are related to each other and that there are still people involved in the incidents whose identities have not yet been established.

The only vehicle that has not yet been found is the black Volkswagen Golf GTI hatchback.

Police are asking anyone with information about those involved or the whereabouts of the black Golf to come forward and speak to police or submit an anonymous report through Crime Stoppers.