Hamzy family home in Auburn targeted in suspected gangland shooting
Police are investigating whether tensions between rival gangs have flared after a western Sydney home linked to the notorious Hamzy family was targeted in a shooting on Monday night.
The Auburn townhouse was sprayed with bullets around 8pm and a stray round hit a window at the nearby Auburn Hospital, injuring a nurse who was hit by the shattering glass.
Police are investigating whether a Monday night shooting is linked to escalating gang tensions. Credit:Kate Geraghty, Nine News
The home targeted has previously been linked to Hamzy family member Maha Hamze, who was shot there in a 2013 attack, and to Ibrahim Hamzy, who is currently subject to a sweeping order curtailing his activities amid an escalating feud with the Alameddines.
After arriving at the crime scene on Monday night, police found a number of bullet holes in the front of the building.
Superintendent Adam Johnson, NSW Police commander in the Auburn area, said late on Monday night it was too early to say who was behind the shooting.
“Auburn detectives in consultation with the State Crime Command are currently conducting a thorough investigation,” Superintendent Johnson said.
Police were told at least two men dressed in black got out of their vehicle near the townhouse driveway and fired several rounds.
Residents were inside but no one in the complex was injured, according to police.
The Auburn incident has stoked concerns about the risk to innocent bystanders from gangland shootings after the female nurse at the hospital – which sits behind the townhouse complex – sustained minor leg injuries.
“It’s a very serious incident. This behaviour won’t be tolerated,” Superintendent Johnson said.
Ibrahim Hamzy, the cousin of notorious Brothers 4 Life founder Bassam Hamzy, is one of four underworld figures subject to serious crime prevention orders imposed by the Supreme Court in December.
The rarely-used orders, which imposed strict controls on people’s activities and communications, were sought by NSW Police to curb what they described in court as an increasingly violent cycle of retribution between the Hamzy and Alameddine families.
The orders prevent the men from using phones not authorised by police and encrypted communications, possessing more than $10,000 in cash and interacting with various known associates and rivals.
Investigators believe the Hamzy-Alameddine dispute stemmed from a suspected theft of drugs. Police fears about the feud peaked when Mejid Hamzy – a cousin of Ibrahim and brother of Bassam – was shot dead outside his home in Condell Park on October 19.
According to evidence heard in the Supreme Court, police identified Ibrahim Hamzy as one of three assailants who attacked an Alameddine associate on October 14 in Sefton.
Police said the alleged assault and a number of shootings were reprisals in the escalating feud between the families.
Fergus Hunter is a crime reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.
Josh Dye is a news reporter with The Sydney Morning Herald.