Dash cam shows dramatic escape of Toyota HiLux after Sydney underworld shooting at Granville intersection

A police prosecutor has sounded a grim warning in court, naming a man as the intended target of Sunday’s Western Sydney shooting and alleging he has taken on a “senior role” within the Alameddine crime network.

Samimjan Azari, 26, was allegedly the intended target of the brazen shooting on Church St in Parramatta.

An alleged high-ranking member of the Alameddine crime clan at the centre of a “tit for tat” gangland feud is thought to have been followed from a police station after reporting for bail, when a gunman opened fire, a court has heard.

Samimjan Azari, 26, was allegedly the intended target of the brazen shooting on Church St in Parramatta about 5.10pm on Sunday, as part of what police say is an internal feud within the powerful Alameddine crime clan and their associated street crews.

But instead it was Dawood Zakaria, 32, who was shot in the head when a black Mercedes pulled up alongside their white Toyota HiLux and opened fire.

Zakaria, who is an associate of the group but not considered a major underworld figure, is on life support in hospital but police do not expect him to survive the attack.

Also caught in the crossfire of the attack was solicitor Sylvan Singh, who was inside the car at the time having accompanied Azari on his bail reporting. He was shot in the upper body and is now in a stable condition.

Dawood Zakaria (left) was shot in the head as he sat in the passenger seat of a Toyota HiLux and is expected not to survive.

Mr Singh has no links to the underworld other than through his work as a lawyer.

As police descended on the crime scene on Sunday night they searched the Toyota HiLux, allegedly discovering a firearm Azari and a fourth passenger - Levi Vitukawalu, 28 - were later charged with possessing.

When both men faced Parramatta Local Court on Monday, police prosecutor Kye Jiang warned of further bloodshed if Azari was bailed, stating he was the intended target of the shooting after allegedly taking on a “senior role” within the Alameddine crime network.

“There will be further bloodshed on the streets,” Sgt Jiang said.

“The streets will not be safe, and it’s all because of his holding in the Alameddine network.

“This is the third shooting at the epicentre of this particular tit for tat feud between particular organised criminal networks.”

Sgt Jiang said Azari had been subject to months of investigation and surveillance by police, which led them to allege the vehicle shot at was his.

Samimjan Azari. Picture: Supplied.

He said Azari had surrounded himself with “bodyguards” as a result of the “feud”.

“The firearm … the tinted windows … the need for two bodyguards is consistent with the position of a high-ranking member of the organisation who has already had an attempt on his life,” he said.

Azari’s lawyer Christopher Parkin argued the prosecution’s case was “weak” with little evidence to link the firearm to his client, who pleaded not guilty.

The court heard Azari was currently subject to a firearm prohibition order and on bail for an alleged armed robbery.

Solicitor Sylvan Singh was shot in the arm and leg.

“There’s nothing in the Crown case to suggest it was Mr Azari’s,” Mr Parkin said of the gun.

“Attending the police station in the presence of a solicitor, knowing he was in possession of a gun, whilst subject to a firearms prohibition, just defies belief.”

Magistrate Bryan Robinson said the case against both Azarti and Vitukawalu was a weak one and granted them bail.

Under the conditions of their release, they will not be able to associate with anyone else who was in the car at the time.

This still from video footage shows the white vehicle that was shot at trying desperately to escape, even crossing over the median strip on Woodville Rd before heading back to Church St.

Dash cam footage captured the frantic efforts of the Toyota HiLux to escape in the aftermath of the shooting, showing it swerving over a median strip on Woodville Rd before briefly going into oncoming traffic on Church St.

Moments later it stopped at the busy intersection of the two roads underneath the M4 overpass as shocked witnesses rushed to help the bleeding men.

Criminal Groups Squad boss Superintendent Jason Box said police were “putting numerous resources” into investigating the shooting under Strike Force Arrino and said “police have (previously) been very productive and proactive in stopping” conflict.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said when asked about the shooting on Monday that those responsible for the “horrifying” attack would be “met with the full force of the law”.

“It’s naked violence on Sydney streets, and I want to make it clear that NSW Police put enormous resources into it,” Mr Minns said.

“If you’re caught in relation to one of these horrifying acts of violence or murder ... you can expect to spend most of the rest of your life in a small jail cell.

“The fact that some people say that this involves those from organised crime is absolutely no excuse. This is appalling behaviour. It needs to be met with the full force of the law, and that’s what will happen.”

Underworld sources said Zakaria and Singh were likely not the intended targets of the shooting, but on Monday morning Superintendent Box told media that his review of the incident was that it was a “targeted and directed” attack at the people in the car.

“I believe … everyone in that vehicle was potentially an intended target,” he said.

“There’s one shooter, but potentially two that have fired at the vehicle.”

When asked whether any of the occupants had been potential targets before this attack, Supt Box confirmed Zakaria had previously survived another targeted shooting earlier this year at Brighton-Le-Sands.

Supt Box said police hadn’t had the chance to speak to Mr Singh, but he was known to police “for his association of who he represents”.

WILD ESCAPE 

Speaking on the timeline of the incident, Supt Box said “straight after the shooting, that vehicle has mounted the median strip and travelled in the other direction to flee the scene”.

“That’s when it came to a stop and police attended and assisted the driver who’d been shot and also the front passenger,” he said.

While acknowledging there had been a number of recent shootings in Sydney, Supt Box said police were “putting numerous resources” into addressing this issue.

“There’s been other occasions where organised crime have committed similar offences and the police have been very productive and proactive in stopping this,” he said.

“Our responses were not just to the shooting, but also in disruptive measures, using legislation that’s available to us.”

The gory scene of the shootings. Picture: Supplied

CHARGES AFTER GUN FOUND IN CAR

In the wake of the attack, police and emergency crews flooded the intersection, detaining two other men at the scene and cordoning off the area as part of an ongoing investigation.

Police found a gun inside the HiLux that was allegedly shot at.

Azari and Vitukawalu have since both been charged with possessing an unauthorised pistol and acquiring a pistol subject to a firearms prohibition order, and will both face Parramatta Local Court today.

CAR ABLAZE

A short time after the attack, fire crews responded to a car blaze in nearby Merrylands West.

It is suspected to be a torched getaway vehicle, a method commonly used in underworld violence.

Samimjan Azari, who was inside the car that was shot at, is led away from the crime scene at Granville under the M4 overpass. He has since been charged with firearm offences. Picture: Rohan Kelly

Levi Vitukawalu was charged with firearm offences. Picture: Rohan Kelly

Later on Sunday night, two other vehicles a Mazda sedan at Warren Rd in Wood Park and an Audi at Goliath St in Winston Hills, were found burnt out.

NSW Police detectives, including officers from the State Crime Command’s Raptor Squad, are investigating the incident and ongoing tensions in the Alameddine network.

Despite earlier hopes that internal disputes with them and associate crew the “KVT” had cooled in recent weeks, police are worried the latest violence suggests otherwise.

The white Toyota HiLux riddled with bullet holes is looked over by police. Picture: Liam Mendes

Police sources have voiced concern that the re-emergence of tit-for-tat shootings could once again destabilise Sydney’s criminal landscape.

“This is not at all what we want,” one officer said. “You’ve seen what shootings like this can do — it’s very concerning.”

Police are urging anyone with information or dashcam footage from the area to come forward.

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Originally published as Dash cam shows dramatic escape of Toyota HiLux after Sydney underworld shooting at Granville intersection