Mortlake shooting: Killer on loose as man shot dead in Mortlake apartment

A GUNMAN is on the loose, as the victim Kemel Barakat, nicknamed “Blackie”, is believed to be linked to the Hells Angels bikie gang.

A GUNMAN is on the loose after killing a man in a targeted attack at an apartment block in Mortlake in Sydney’s inner west.

The victim, Kemel “Blackie’’ Barakat, had links to the outlawed Hells Angels motorcycle gang and was an associate of the Ahmad crime family involved in a bloody gang feud in Sydney’s west.

He was one of a number of people police were looking at for the murder of Hamad Assaad, known as the “The Executioner.’’

Police assemble outside the murder scene this morning. Picture: John Grainger

Family and friends at scene today. Picture: John Grainger

Family member consoled by friend. Picture: John Grainger

Police at the scene of today’s shooting. Picture: Bill Hearne

A male has been shot dead in a unit on Bennett Street, Mortlake. Picture: Bill Hearne

Officers outside the unit block. Picture: Bill Hearne

Police seal off street. Picture: Bill Hearne

A team of detectives at the murder scene early today. Picture: Bill Hearne

Barakat had an extensive criminal history for drug supply and was also an associate of jailed Hells Angels Boss Felix Lyle.

About 2:30 last night, emergency crews rushed to Bennett Street in Mortlake, where they found the body of a man inside a home.

Barakat, 29, is believed to have been shot in the stomach and chest as he lay in bed.

At 3:50am, a female witness, dressed in all black was escorted down to a police cruiser and taken away.

Homicide detectives from State Crime Command are on the scene as family and friends of the deceased man begin to arrive at the apartment complex.

Assassinated... Sydney crime figure Walid ‘Wally’ Ahmad

Wally Ahmad was shot dead in broad daylight as he sat in a cafe at a Bankstown shopping centre in April last year.

His death sparked a gangland war in Sydney’s underworld and several killings.

Ahmad ran one of Sydney’s most feared crime syndicates, which controlled a large section of the drug trade around Bankstown, Punchbowl and Condell Park in southwest Sydney..

Ahmad, described as the “Mr Big” of crime, was widely known for his standover tactics. He spent seven years in jail following a manslaughter conviction for the shooting death of Mayez Dany at a Greenacre wreckers yard in 2002.