Nurse injured in Auburn Hospital drive-by shooting linked to crime families

A nurse has been injured after a stray bullet from a drive-by shooting hit a suburban hospital. It’s understood the shooting is connected to a war between two Sydney crime families - the Hamzys and Alameddines.

A nurse has been injured after a stray bullet from a drive-by shooting hit a Western Sydney hospital on Monday night.

Two men dressed in black shot “multiple rounds” into a townhouse on Auburn Rd at Auburn about 8pm last night, police said.

The residents of the home were inside but uninjured.

However a nurse at the nearby Auburn Hospital was hit in the leg by debris when a stray bullet flew through a rear window, shattering glass.

Close call... A bullet passed through the bottom of a second story window of Auburn Hospital injuring a nurse. Picture: John Grainger

The nurse was hit in the leg by debris. Picture: John Grainger

Multiple police remain at the scene of a shooting in Auburn on Monday night. Picture: Richard Dobson

A nurse at Auburn Hospital was injured in the drive-by shooting. Picture: Richard Dobson

It is understood the shooting was connected to a war between two Sydney crime families — the Hamzys and Alameddines.

A mother who lives in the townhouse complex said she sheltered against a brick wall with her young children inside her home when the three shots rang out from the rear driveway.

“My next door neighbour saw someone running,” she said.

“I was doing the dishes, I heard three bullets, grabbed the kids, put them somewhere (with) bricks because I was scared … there’s brick here and brick here, I had to protect the kids.

“I want to move out of here, because my priority is my children .. after what I’ve seen ... (my kids) are 17 months and three years old.

“I left everything and ran to see … I ran to see neighbours, they were already on the phone calling police.”

The block where the shooting occurred is a row of two storey brick townhouses on Auburn St.

One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said she heard the shooting from inside her home about 8.30pm last night and became frightened.

“I heard bang, bang, bang,” she said.

“I got scared, I said is that a shooting or is it a firecracker? It was dark.

“I was so scared to get out”.

Bullets were fired at 162 Auburn Road, Auburn. Picture John Grainger

There is a bullet hole in a window on the second level of Auburn Hospital, which is located over the eastern side fence of the townhouse complex.

The Daily Telegraph revealed senior police had been briefed about three separate underworld wars which have resulted in five people shot dead and the attempted murder of three others in the past six months.

Mejid Hamzy, a crime family patriarch, was shot dead outside his Condell Park home last year.

Deputy Police commissioner David Hudson said the shooting was one of 70 carried out in the past twelve months by criminal networks.

“It’s not acceptable when good people are put in danger,’’ Commissioner Hudson said.

“We have a number of leads and I expect a quick resolution,’’ he said.

Commisioner Hudson said more police resources were being thrown at targeting the criminal groups believed to be behind the latest shootings.

”We will put them back in their box,’’ he said.

Mejid Hamzy.

This latest incident could be the first reported case where an innocent bystander has been injured.

Auburn PAC Commander Superintendent Adam Johnson said the nurse had suffered “minor injuries” to her leg from the shattered window but was “fine”.

“(The nurse) wasn’t injured as a result of the round,” Supt Johnson said.

“But she did get some superficial injuries as a result of shattered glass.”

On Monday night investigators examined the home to find multiple bullet holes, which will be forensically examined.

A nurse at Auburn Hospital was injured in the drive-by shooting. Picture: Richard Dobson.

Supt Johnson said police were investigating “lines of inquiry” including whether the shooting was gang related and said public shootings “wouldn’t be tolerated”.

“This is a very serious investigation and this behaviour won’t be tolerated, we’ll conduct a thorough investigation to identify the people responsible,” he said.

A spokesman for Auburn Hospital said on Tuesday the nurse had undergone medical treatment.

“An incident which occurred at Auburn Hospital around 8.35pm (on Monday) is under investigation by NSW Police,” he said.

“A nurse received treatment for a minor injury, patient care continued as normal.”