Blood spills as brutal Sydney gang war escalates

A father and son assassinated in a targeted shooting in broad daylight in a suburban street, the stark images laid bare the brutal reality of what appears to be the latest instalment in the bloody chapter of an escalating Sydney gang war.

A father and son assassinated in a targeted shooting in broad daylight in a suburban street, the stark images laid bare the brutal reality of what appears to be the latest instalment in the bloody chapter of an escalating Sydney gang war.

Inside a red tradesman’s truck, police found Salim Hamze and his father Toufik Hamze, the younger man already dead, his parent clinging to life, only to die shortly afterwards in hospital.

A bullet can be seen in the door panel of the Hamze’s red ute. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Police seal off streets near today's double murder scene. NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Police found Salim Hamze and his father Toufik Hamze inside the ute. Picture: 7News

Distressed family and friends at the scene of the shooting. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Paramedics work to keep Toufik Hamze alive. Picture: Supplied

Salim Hamze’s body is covered with tarp. Picture: Supplied

Police talk to a worried neighbour near the scene.Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Residents were told to go back to their homes as a crime scene was established .Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

NSW Police State Crime Command Director Detective Chief Superintendent Darren Bennett told 2GB the younger man was understood to be the target of the shooting, while the older man was an innocent victim.

“There’s a number of people … in our south-western part of Sydney who are more than happy to solve their problems with violence,” he said.

“This gentleman, a 64-year-old man who is now deceased, was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and these people think nothing of executing someone who’s in their way.”

A heavy police presence descended on the grim crime scene at Guildford in Sydney’s west.

A police helicopter hovered above Osgood St near Woodville Rd as neighbours began spilling into the street and nearby roads were blocked off.

Police descend on Osgood St near Woodville Rd at Guildford. Picture: 7News

The double shooting appeared to have all the hallmarks of the bloody fallout in the gangland war between the Hamze and Alameddine families.

It marks the fourth death in the Hamze clan since the hostilities began.