Merrylands shooting victim also hit by bullet eight years ago
One of two men shot in a car in Sydney’s west on Thursday night was also struck by a bullet eight years ago, when he was just 16.
NSW
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One of two men shot in a car in Sydney’s west on Thursday night was also struck by a bullet eight years ago, when he was just 16.
Police believe Hasan Goktas and another man, both 24, were sitting in a Toyota Camry in the driveway of a home on Badham St, Merrylands when the attack happened about 9.30pm.
“Two men came up to the car and shots were fired. They were seen running up the road before getting into a small white or silver SUV,” Chief Inspector Phillips said.
“It’s certainly a targeted shooting. But at this point no one really knows the details. We are not suggesting the people in the home were involved in the shooting. But because the people involved are well known there could be a myriad of explanations.”
Both men were taken to Westmead Hospital, one in critical condition.
Goktas nearly died in 2012 when he was shot in the stomach outside a home connected to relatives of Bassam Hamzy, the notorious founder of the Brothers for Life gang.
It understood Goktas’ father, convicted drug dealer Hakan Goktas, was there with him at the time.
Charbel Nohra, who lives in the home police believe Goktas was at last night before he got shot, told The Daily Telegraph he did not know the two men waiting in the parked car in his driveway and that he was asleep during the shooting.
Detectives spent the majority of Friday searching his house and a car parked on the street, which was taken into evidence.
A trail of blood lined the footpath from the driveway where the shooting occurred to where a victim fled seeking help from neighbours about 200m down the road.
A frightened woman said she passed out after seeing the victim’s shirt and pants covered in blood.
“I went outside after hearing footsteps running down the street and loud bangs,” she said.
“I saw a guy and he collapsed in front of my door. He goes: ‘Please help me’. He was drenched in blood.
“He was wearing a dark green shirt and some long trousers. I called the ambulance and kept checking on him, but it was too traumatic and I passed out.”
Neighbour Peter Stevens, 70, said police were searching house to house for clues after the shooting, including in a park near the street.
“You get kids playing in the park in the day and idiots ‘yahooing’ there at night,” he said.
Detective Superintendent Darryl Jobson said he had “no doubt” members of the community knew who was involved.
“This is a callous and brazen attack, and we want to make sure that we’re investigating this swiftly as we can,” he said.
