Slaying of Hawi ally Fares Abounader sparks fear of Comanchero-Bandido war
The execution-style slaying of a veteran bikie involved in the 2009 fatal airport brawl is feared to be the first casualty in a new war brewing between two of the underworld’s most feared outlaw gangs.
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A man shot to death outside his Sydney home is the first victim of a vicious new bikie war being waged between the Comanchero and Bandidos outlaw motorcycle gangs.
Fares Abounader, 39, was shot repeatedly when he stepped out of his Mercedes outside his Panania home about midnight on Saturday.
The father was a longtime Comanchero member who was believed to have recently “patched’ over” to long time rivals the Bandidos.
A new chapter, calling themselves variously the Liverpool, Bankstown or “the Nomads” because they can go wherever they want, has emerged in southwest Sydney in the past six months and has been actively recruiting Comanchero members.
A leading member of the new chapter is also a former Comanchero who left the club and was known to be close to the murdered man, Abounader.
Aboundader was charged alongside bikie boss Mick Hawi for his involvement in a fatal brawl at Sydney Airport in 2009.
It is believed his executioner was lying in wait Saturday night and shot him as he went to get something out of the rear of his vehicle after spending the night in the city.
Stunned neighbours, who thought the family were friendly, said they heard gunshots before horrified screams of Abounader’s wife.
“I heard gunshots but I thought it was further away, and I heard people yelling. They were trying to resuscitate him,” one neighbour said.
“I heard people yelling ‘hurry, hurry’, (the gunshots) were constant, people were screaming,” she said.
Underworld sources said the entire Milperra Chapter of the Comancheros had patched over to the Bandidos in the past few months.
“It’s created bad blood everywhere,’’ said an underworld source.
The police are also investigating if the victim may have refused an offer to join the Bandidos, in which case the shooting may have been retaliation from that motorcycle gang.
The head of the Comancheros, Mark Buddle who is living overseas is said to be furious with the recent desertion of former members but there is no suggestion or evidence he was involved in Abounader’s death.
“We can confirm the victim is known to us and was a member of the Comanchero Outlaw Motorcycle Gang. There may have been some changes in that status recently which we’re still investigating, and there may have been some impacts from that,” Detective Superintendent Robert Critchlow of the NSW Criminal groups Squad.
“He was ambushed in a fairly cowardly and brazen way by someone in the dark who he couldn’t defend himself against and who has taken his life.
“Despite the fact that the victim was known to police it doesn’t change the fact he was a family man, and his wife and young child were home at the time.
Strike Force Raptor officers were seen leaving Bankstown police station yesterday on a massive suppression operation to stop any attempts at retaliation.
Supt Critchlow said they will be out in force in the coming days “knocking on doors and knocking down doors” of known members and associates of the gangs.
While police believe the recent patching over is the most likely motive for the shooting they have to look at other possibilities.
“It could easily be another club wanting to escalate the war between the two groups … It’s been done before,’’ said a police source.
At the time of the airport brawl with the Hells Angels Abounader held the office of “road captain” in the Comanchero gang.
Unlike many bikies he kept a low profile having no social media presence at all.
In 2014 he was subject to a Firearms Prohibition Order and was banned from Sydney Casino for life.
In 2017 he was arrested again when he was found in possession of an illegally imported Glock revolver and was only released from jail last year.
Mr Abounader’s wife and a neighbour rushed to perform CPR on the man but he died around midnight in front of his family home.
His six-month-old baby was at home at the time of the attack.
Yesterday morning police combed the streets for evidence, with the gunman yet to be found.
Blood dripped from Mr Abounader’s white Mercedes ute as it was hauled away into evidence, and the street was stained with a pool of the victim’s blood.
Blood soaked white sheets were bagged into evidence and detectives studies CCTV for any sign of a white SVU seen leaving the murder scene.
In 2018, nearly than a decade after the airport brawl, Hawi was shot dead in front of a Rockdale gym. Two men are currently facing trial charged with his murder.
