The brothers targeted by a hail of bullets in the foyer of a Sydney gym had been warned their lives were in danger before the deadly shooting.
Comancheros bikie boss Tarek Zahed, 41, and his brother Omar, 39, were sprayed with bullets at the BodyFit gym on Parramatta Road in Auburn about 8pm yesterday.
Tarek Zahed suffered ten gunshot wounds to his body, including one to the head, but survived the ambush and is in a stable but serious condition in hospital.
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Omar Zahed was treated for multiple gunshot wounds to his stomach, arms and legs but died at the scene.
"When we arrived on scene both patients had suffered significant blood loss and one of them had gone into traumatic cardiac arrest," NSW Ambulance Inspector Kevin McSweeney said.
"Paramedics did everything they could but despite best efforts, he died at the scene.
"The second patient had been hit with up to 10 bullets and incredibly, was still conscious and breathing when we transported him to hospital.
"This was an horrific and confronting scene that unfolded in front of several witnesses, it is very fortunate no other members of the public were injured."
After the shooting last night two burnt-out Audi Q7 SUVs were found at Greenacre and Berala.
The elder Zahed, who is lying in a bed at Westmead Hospital, was arrested last year for assaulting a bikie affiliate inside the bathroom of a swanky restaurant at Crown casino in Barangaroo.
He and slain brother Omar were also nabbed breaking lockdown orders while walking along the Bay Run in Drummoyne in the middle of the night in August 2021.
In September Zahed flew to Lebanon claiming he feared for his life, but returned to Melbourne several months later.
There he put the spotlight back on himself by interrupting playing during the men's final at the Australian Open.
Since the 90s, Tarek has been charged with more than 40 offences.
Brothers were warned of attack
Assistant Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald said the pair had been warned as recently as last Thursday they were marked men, but neither chose to take any extra precautions or protections.
Homicide Squad Danny Doherty confirmed one line of inquiry police were pursuing was whether this latest shooting is linked to ongoing conflict between crime networks in west and south west Sydney.
He said detectives are looking at whether a "power struggle within criminal networks" was at play and said they are not discounting any previous incidents.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said officers "won't rest" until the conflict is resolved, and her "greatest fear" is "an innocent member of the public will be killed".
She said Strikeforce Raptor will be again ramping up their presence in the area targeting criminals, "not mum and dads".
Webb asked anyone with information or video footage to speak to police.
"We're asking for witnesses… we're talking about criminals who don't assist police but someone must know something".
NSW Deputy Premier and Police Minister Paul Toole issued a warning to anyone involved in last night's "targeted" shooting.
"If you are part of the Sydney underworld, you are involved in criminal activity, we are going to hunt you down," Toole said.
"We will actually kick down doors, raid homes, raid businesses… We will harass you.
"We are going to come after you and we are going to lock you up."
Earlier, Premier Dominic Perrottet also issued a warning for those involved in the latest shooting.
"There is no place for crime and for these criminals in our city and in our state," he said.
"And if you are involved, Strike Force Raptor and the NSW Police Force are going to hunt you down and lock you up."
On 2GB radio this morning Webb told Ben Fordham the shooting was possibly a revenge attack for the fatal shooting of Mahmoud "Brownie" Ahmad in Greenacre last month.
"We can't rule it out and some of these people are in conflict with a number of other groups and it is hard to pinpoint if it is direct retaliation or not," the commissioner said.
Strike Force Leary has been established to investigate the shooting, with dozens of officers added to the probe.
Speaking on Today, criminologist Xanthe Mallett explained Sydney's gangland war involved more than simply two opposing gangs.
"Several rival gangs are involved in this and there are several reasons why it happens," she said.
"It is about control and control of drug trade and family and gang ties.
"One of the others issues people don't speak about – there is the code of silence around these events.
"If people have a suspect, it is unlikely that they are going speak to police."
