Revealed: The young man, 22, shot dead in Sydney's latest Hamzy and Alameddine gang war conflict – and the innocent bystander who miraculously survived a bullet to the head
- Shady Kanj, 22, was shot in a car in Western Sydney's on Friday about 11pm
- Another man sitting in a nearby parked car was hit by a stray bullet but survived
- Kanj, an associate of the Hamzy and Alameddine crime groups, died at scene
- Police said other man was an innocent bystander watching sport on his phone
A man has been shot dead while an innocent bystander has miraculously survived a bullet to the head in an incident understood to be linked to the Hamzy and Alameddine gang war.
Shady Kanj, 22, was struck by a bullet while a passenger in a car driving on Boundary Rd, Chester Hill in Western Sydney about 11pm on Friday night.
Kanj is an associate of both the Hamzy and Alameddine gangs, reports The Daily Telegraph.
Shady Kanj, 22, was shot and killed in Western Sydney on Friday night in what police say could be an escalation of gang violence (pictured)
The scene at Chester Hill on Friday night (pictured) where a gunman opened fire on a car Kanj was a passenger in
The driver travelled to Rhodes Avenue in nearby Guildford where he pulled over and yelled for assistance.
Paramedics were called and treated Kanj but he died from his wounds at the scene.
A second man who happened to be sitting in a parked car on Boundary Rd with his brother when the gunman opened fire was also shot.
He was watching sport on a mobile phone when a stray bullet hit him in the head - but he somehow survived.
He was rushed to Westmead Hospital and remains in a stable condition.
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A senior police source, Homicide Squad Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty, told the publication the 25-year-old appeared to be an innocent bystander.
'It appears that he was sitting in the car watching sport on his phone and a stray bullet has grazed him. He is extremely lucky,' he said.
Emergency services were quick to attend the scene in Western Sydney and while Kanj died from his wounds a shot innocent bystander was rushed to hospital and survived (pictured)
'I think his family and friends would be thankful he wasn't killed and the community at large. I know we are.'
Underworld sources told The Daily Telegraph that Kanj was close to members of the Hamzy group.
'The talk on the street is that his shooting is about the war... and it's gonna get worse,' one source said.
While Det Supt Doherty said Kanj was also an associate of the Alameddine gang.
He could not say, however, that the shooting was connected to any turf war between the groups.
Police rushing to the scene on Friday night in Sydney (pictured)
'We can't say 100 per cent that's what the main motive. We also can't discount this could be an internal conflict between an organised crime network.'
NSW police released a statement on the shootings early on Saturday.
'About 11.10pm (on Friday night), emergency services were called to Boundary Road, Chester Hill, following reports a man had been shot,' the statement read.
'Upon arrival, officers attached to Cumberland Police Area Command located an injured man. He was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics at the scene, before being taken to Westmead Hospital in a stable condition.
'A short time later, emergency services were called to Rhodes Avenue, Guildford, following reports another man had been shot, about 11.15pm.
'Police located a man with a gunshot wound. He was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics, however, he died at the scene.'
Detectives will continue to investigate the two incidents.
The two crime networks have been have been feuding in recent months with a number of kidnappings and shootings.
Underworld figure Mejid Hamzy (pictured), who was gunned down outside his southwestern Sydney house last year
Mejid Hamzy was the brother of jailed Brothers 4 Life gang leader Bassam Hamzy (pictured)
Last month, two men were arrested over the shooting of underworld figure Mejid Hamzy, who was gunned down outside his southwestern Sydney house, in 2020.
The two gunmen allegedly ambushed the 44-year-old's as he walked out into the street.
Mejid Hamzy was the brother of jailed Brothers 4 Life gang leader Bassam Hamzy.
Just days before Mejid Hamzy was executed in Condell Park, a friend of the Alameddine crime group was assaulted.
In June, Hamzy's cousin - Bilal Hamze - was ambushed and executed by gunmen in the Sydney's CBD as he emerged from a restaurant, in what police suspect was an escalation of violence between the two gangs.
Shady Kanj (pictured) is understood to have linked to both crime groups
