'Revenge killing': Investigators search for link between Sydney execution-style murders
Police are investigating whether the shooting death of a man in the driveway of his southwest Sydney home is a revenge crime from a similar execution-style shooting in Bankstown earlier this year.
Hamad Assaad, 29, was gunned down in front of his George’s Hall home at about 9:20am on Tuesday morning.
Police believe two gunmen and a getaway driver were waiting for Mr Assaad to leave his home on Sturt Avenue before they carried out the attack.
A 12-year-old boy, who was preparing to leave the family home with Mr Assaad, witnessed the shooting.
Mr Assaad was already known to police as a suspect in the shooting of Walid “Wally” Ahmad, who was killed in similar circumstances at Bankstown Central shopping centre in April.
Mr Ahmad, a standover man, was hit with at least seven bullets when a masked gunman opened fire on a café.
An innocent woman buying coffee was also hit by a stray bullet and transported to hospital with a bullet wound to her leg.
The murder of Mr Ahmad was thought to be in retaliation for the shooting homicide of Safwan Charbaji, who was shot outside Mr Ahmad’s panel beating business two weeks earlier.
Mr Assaad was a key suspect in Mr Ahmad’s death, leading police to search for any links between the shootings.
"This is a targeted shooting," Homicide Squad Detective Chief Inspector Grant Taylor said on Tuesday.
The two men are believed to be from rival families. Mr Assaad was previously found not guilty of murdering 37-year-old Mohamad Alahmad, who was found dead inside his BMW in the driveway of his home in South Granville.
He was shot six times.
One source told the Sydney Morning Herald Mr Assaad reported to crime boss Nasser Kalache and it was Kalache who ordered the kill on Mr Alahmad.
“[Hamad Assaad] was too wild for his own good,” the source said. “He was a really nice kid but you could direct him [to do something].”
Investigators are searching for a black Audi sedan believed to be linked to Mr Assaad’s shooting.
The property remains a crime scene.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page.
