The 48-year-old was found lying in a pool of blood outside his Altona North home in Melbourne's suburban inner west about 7.45pm on Sunday.
A family member made the grisly discovery, spotting Haddara near his BMW with gunshot wounds to his upper body, Detective Inspector Adam Tilley said on Monday.
Investigators were yet to speak with Haddara, who was in a critical condition at Royal Melbourne Hospital on Monday afternoon.
The motive and identity of his shooter or shooters have yet to be established, but the attack is believed to have been targeted, partly because of Haddara's profile.
"This person is known to police. (He has an) extensive history," Det Insp Tilley said
Haddara is alleged to be the head of his namesake family clan, linked to Melbourne's illicit tobacco trade.
The Haddara group is reported to have once been a rival of a syndicate led by tobacco kingpin Kazem Hamad.
The latter has been connected to a series of high-profile firebombings in Victoria while fighting for control of importation and distribution of illicit tobacco.
Hamad was arrested by Iraqi authorities following his deportation from Australia in 2023 and recently jailed for life.
Asked if Hamad's group, known as The Commission, was suspected of involvement in the shooting, Det Insp Tilley said nothing was being ruled out.
"We're going to review all the intelligence holdings that we have in relation to our victim, and everything is on the table," he said.
Investigators are wary of potential retribution, stressing the danger reprisals pose to the public.
"We're worried about (the) flow on effect that may occur and flare up into the community," Det Insp Tilley said.
"Although it's a targeted attack, any use of a firearm in a public place is a concern to us."
The shooting has sparked a sprawling investigation, with Victoria Police's Armed Crimes Squad requesting intelligence from other units within the force.Â
That includes Operation Eclipse and Taskforce Lunar, established to probe organised crime links to attacks on Melbourne nightlife venues and tobacco retailers.
Haddara last made headlines in 2025 when police withdrew a range of gun charges against him following an investigation into illicit tobacco and organised crime.
He faced an additional charge of affray by using unlawful violence over an incident in Altona North in November 2022, but it was withdrawn in March 2024.
In a statement issued through their lawyers, Haddara's family requested privacy as they "focus on the wellbeing of their loved one".
Officers from the Major Crime Scene Unit were at the scene into Monday morning, where a stretch of Marigold Avenue was closed to traffic.
Haddara's brother Mohammed was killed in a shooting on Fifth Avenue in 2009, a short distance from the site of Sunday's shooting, after an argument about a Mercedes borrowed for his sister's wedding.
In 2019, Ali Chaouk was jailed for at least 18 years for the murder.
Ahmed Hablas, the cousin of Chaouk's wife, initially confessed to the killing but retracted his statement and was acquitted by a jury in 2011.
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