Two men had just finished a pizza and were walking to a friend's house when they were set upon by a group of masked men who stabbed and killed one of them in broad daylight.
A 37-year-old man underwent surgery but died in hospital after the attack in Sydney's west early on Saturday afternoon.
Police are appealing for information in a bid to identify the masked-up members of a trio who bashed and stabbed him on Bangor St at Guildford.
The man who died was known to police, but not for any serious matters, and had no known links to organised crime, Superintendent Andrew Holland told reporters on Sunday.
"There is concerns about why they've been attacked in the middle of the day, in the middle of the street," Supt Holland said.
The three men involved in the attack were dressed all in black with face coverings, he said.
"They obviously had intent when they went to that location, they knew what they were up to, and obviously our victim and our witness were in the wrong place at the wrong time by the looks," Supt Holland said.
The two men had parked a street over to eat a pizza and were walking to a friend's house when the attack took place, he said.
The other man distracted one of the attackers before retrieving the car and driving the victim to Westmead Hospital, where he died.
Police are yet to identify a motive or find a weapon allegedly used in the attack, but have appealed for dashcam footage in the vicinity from about 1.35pm, seeking a silvery-blue Toyota sedan with tinted windows seen turning left into Guildford Rd as it left the scene.
It was the second stabbing death in Sydney on Saturday.
A 15-year-old boy was charged with murder after a man in his 30s was stabbed at Concord in the city's inner west.
The prevalence of knife possession and associated crime were a major concern, Supt Holland said.
"Everyone seems to think that they need to carry a knife to protect themselves," he said.
"They don't need to carry knives at all, it's an offence, and police will take action."
Recent law changes allow police to stop and scan people for knives in specific locations in a bid to crack down on knife crime.
