Abdul Alameddine stands trial over 2022 Lidcombe shooting

A teen accused of firing bullets on a suburban street in broad daylight allegedly booked flights to Lebanon hours after his associate was arrested, a court heard.

A teen accused of a daylight shooting, who allegedly climbed into the back seat of a man’s car and put a gun to his head, fled to Lebanon, a jury has heard.

Abdul Alameddine, 21, is standing trial in the NSW District Court over charges relating to a daylight shooting in November 2022.

He previously pleaded not guilty to discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, firing a firearm in or near a public place, using an offensive weapon with intention to commit an indictable offence, and acquiring a pistol while subject to a firearms prohibition order.

The Crown alleges Alameddine was the balaclava clad shooter who entered a Toyota Hilux parked on a suburban street in Lidcombe, and held a gun to a man’s head who was sitting in the front seat.

In opening submissions, the jury heard around 4.30pm four men arrived at Gallipoli St in a Toyota Corolla.

CCTV shows a man exiting the White Hilux on Gallipoli St. Picture: NSW Police

One man, dressed in all black and armed with a silver pistol, got out before entering the stationary Hilux, where the intended target Gassan Haydar and his friend were parked eating KFC.

A short time later the man exited the Hilux and fired a shot in it’s direction, before re-entering the Corolla which fled the scene.

The occupants of both cars engaged in a melee following a crash in Richmond Rd. Picture: Google

According to Mr Haydar the man held a pistol to his head and threatened to kill him.

Mr Haydar and his friend, who were both uninjured by the shot, took off after the Corolla which they rear ended at an intersection in Homebush West.

The occupants of both the Corolla and the Hilux left their cars and descended into what the court heard was as a “melee” on the side of the road.

At the same time emergency services attended the crash scene, an anonymous caller to Auburn police station reported hearing “fireworks and yelling”.

A still of CCTV released by police in the days following the shooting in 2022. Picture: NSW Police

Another witness later told police he had heard “three banging sounds”, and a voice screaming “I’ll f--king kill you”.

The next day, a man by the name of Khoder Hamdan was attending Auburn Police Station on unrelated matters, when police questioned him about the events the day before.

Mr Hamdan told police he was the sole occupant of the Corolla when it crashed, and denied being involved in any fighting or any knowledge of round beings fired on Gallipoli St.

Forming the view Mr Hamdan was the shooter, police arrested him.

Five hours after Mr Hamdan’s arrest, Alameddine boarded a flight to Lebanon via Dubai, a country with no extradition treaty with Australia, the jury heard.

While overseas police received footage which they believed showed Alameddine involved in the brawl.

An arrest warrant for Alameddine was issued on December 23, and he was arrested three weeks later while going through customs at Sydney airport.

On Thursday, high profile barrister Ertunc Ozen KC, assisted by solicitor Mostafa Daoudie, told the jury the identity of the shooter was the critical issue, with the Crown needing to prove it was Alameddine.

Mr Ozen also told the jury they would hear evidence that Gassan Haydar told police the shooter had been “dark skinned with an African accent”.

The trial continues.