A man who was shot dead at a house in Sydney’s west earlier this year has been identified as a Chinese national who police believe was innocently caught in the crossfire between two groups of men.

Qin Wu, 37, died on February 1 at the single-storey Guildford house on Kennedy Street.

The house, which is covered in colourful graffiti, was also being used as a temple and reportedly a meeting place for drug dealers.

Wu was not the intended target, Detective Sergeant Justin Moynihan said in a statement on Thursday.

“It is possible Qin may have been shot when he intervened in an argument between his friend and a group of men who arrived during their visit at the house,” he said.

“At the time of the incident, the house was also being used as a temple, so there were numerous visitors every day and we would like to speak to anyone who visited in the days leading up to his death.”

Forensic evidence indicates another person may have been shot, but despite searching hospitals across Sydney police have not found the injured person.

Police also believe at least two people left the house after the shooting and returned with a third person, although they were not at the house when police arrived.

“Ultimately, someone out there knows something, and they might be concealing an offence. Now is the time to come forward,” Det Sgt Moynihan said.

The Guildford house was the scene of an unrelated murder three years ago, police have confirmed.

In 2014 Zhen Fang fatally stabbed Ting Huang, 25, whose decomposing body was found wrapped in a doona in a car boot near Rookwood cemetery in Lidcombe.

Fang, 38, was sentenced in March for at least 14 years behind bars for the frenzied knife attack.