Police say a daylight shooting in Sydney that left a father and son dead is “another appalling crime in a long list of gangland-style” killings.
Salim Hamze and his father Toufik were found slumped inside a ute on Osgood Street at Guildford after neighbours reported hearing gunfire just before 9:00am.
The ABC understands a sports car pulled up outside the property before a man got out and opened fire on the pair.
Salim, 18, was already dead when authorities arrived, and Toufik was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to hospital in a critical condition.
The 64-year-old died there before 11:00am.
Key points:
- Salim and Toufik Hamze are the third and fourth members of the family to be killed in just over a year
- Toufik Hamze was found alive at the scene but died later in hospital
- Authorities have said the gangland feud was triggered by the theft of drugs
NSW Police state crime command director Detective Chief Superintendent Darren Bennett said authorities found a burnt out vehicle in nearby Murdock Lane.
He called the shooting “another appalling crime in a long list of gangland style shootings that have taken place in south-west Sydney”.
“It’s an atrocious crime that shouldn’t have taken place,” he said.
“Retribution-style, drug turf-style shootings are an ongoing problem.”
The Hamze and Alameddine families have been at war, with four shooting deaths in just over 12 months.
Police are speaking to the Hamze family and witnesses.
Detective Chief Superintendent Bennett said police “may have to work proactively against people in the coming days”.
Dozens of police could be seen in the area after the incident this morning and the area remained a crime scene.
Several family members were seen crying outside the property this morning.
Traffic controller Kylie Peterson said she turned a street corner before the gunshots rung out.
“I was here, down here on the street for work about five minutes before it happened and we drove off around the corner and heard loud bangs,” she said.
“A bit nerve-wracking but we didn’t know exactly what it was until we came back around here.”
Neighbour Ali Ghazi has lived in Guildford for two years and is worried the area isn’t safe.
“It’s scary. I heard police coming and helicopters over the top.” he said.
“Shocking. It’s scary. It’s not safe.”
Wednesday’s escalation means four members of the Hamze family, sometimes also spelled Hamzy, have been shot dead in just over a year.
The shooting is believed to be part of an escalating feud with rival crime family the Alameddines.
Mejid Hamzy, brother of Brothers 4 Life gang leader Bassam Hamzy, was shot dead outside his Condell Park home in October last year.
Days before his murder, a friend of the Alameddine family was seriously assaulted with a metal pole in Sefton.
Underworld boss Bilal Hamze was gunned down shortly after leaving a Japanese restaurant in Sydney’s CBD in June this year.
Detectives had warned him there was a bounty on his head.
It’s unclear where the hierarchy Salim Hamze — who was known to police — stood, but Detective Chief Superintendent Bennett said the victim’s father did not have a criminal history.
NSW Police have previously restricted the movement of the two families with a Supreme Court order.
It means members of the families are banned from visiting some other parts of Sydney.
Authorities said the dispute began over the theft of some drugs, but had since escalated into violence and retribution killings.
“Information we received … [was] that the Alameddine family had stolen an amount of drugs from the Hamzys,” Detective Chief Inspector Nicholas Read told the Supreme Court in December.
Two brothers were charged in July over the execution-style murder of Mejid Hamzy, after heavily armed police raided homes across Sydney and Wollongong.
Ezzedine Omar, 38, was arrested at his Liverpool home, and was charged with 17 offences, including murder.
Police allege Mr Omar organised the hit on Mejid Hamzy but did not pull the trigger.
His brother Mohammed Omar, 44, was later arrested at a home in Croydon and is accused of hiding one of the getaway cars used in the attack — a white BMW.
He was charged with six offences.
Police are still searching for the shooter.
Police have previously said they are concerned about bystanders being injured amid the escalating violence, after the matriarch of the Hamzy family, Maha, was targeted in a shooting in February.
While she survived, one of the bullets went through a window at Auburn Hospital and narrowly missed a nurse caring for a patient.
I am from Hobart in Australia. After graduating from school I took up this role to become a freelance writer. When I am not writing I love spending time in the water, I am a keen surfer.