Condell Park shooting: Man shot dead through car window

SAFWAN Charbaji, 35, made a desperate dash for his car as gunfire erupted outside a Condell Park smash repairs but he was fatally wounded by a bullet that was fired through the front windscreen of the car.

SAFWAN Charbaji’s wife is planning a second funeral this year after her husband was gunned down following an argument at a western Sydney industrial estate.

Mrs Charbaji delivered a stillborn child two months ago.

Now she is preparing to bury her husband after he was shot in the chest outside A Team Smash Repair in Condell Park about 1pm on Saturday.

One of the shot men was driven to Bankstown Hospital in this car which was taped off by police.

Blood could be seen on the door and bullets were found next to the car on the ground.

A second man, 35-year-old Abdullah El Masri, remains in a critical condition in an induced coma at Liverpool Hospital.

He was shot in the jaw during the flurry of bullets that followed an argument between a number of men at the smash repairs business, which was owned by the Ahmad family.

It is understood that Mr Charbaji, 35, ran for his car as the gunfire started but he was fatally wounded by a bullet that was fired through the front windscreen of the car.

Mr Charbaji’s distraught wife was being comforted by friends and family at their Bankstown home yesterday.

Mohammed Elmir, brother-in-law of Safwan Charbaji.

A close friend of Mr Charbaji said the family was struggling to come to terms with the loss and that Mr Charbaji was “a great guy, everyone knows that”.

Two men whom police believe have information about Mr Charbaji’s death were yesterday charged for concealing a serious indictable offence.

The men — 22-year-olds Mohammed Elmir and Adam Abboud — were arrested outside Bankstown Hospital, where they had allegedly driven Mr Charbaji after he was shot.

The pair appeared in Parramatta Local Court yesterday. They were granted bail and released from Amber Laurel Correctional Centre late yesterday evening.

Elmir is the brother-in-law of Mr Charbaji.

Bankstown Police Detective Inspector Glen Fitzgerald said: “I don’t believe that there were any innocent bystanders.

“It’s quite possible that a meeting has taken place and people have heard some sort of arguing and a number of shots have been fired.

“We believe that the two people did know each other and they may have been known to police,” he said.

“We are still seeking any assistance from the public in relation to anyone with any knowledge of the incident.”

Mr Charbaji’s former girlfriend Chantelle Delboe, 23, was killed in a hit-and-run incident in Warwick Farm in 2008.

His mother Hafswa Charbaji was seriously injured in the same accident.