Video reveals horror shooting of Lametta Fadlallah as criminal ‘rule book’ is thrown out
Criminals have ‘thrown out’ the rules of the Sydney underworld after the ex-girlfriend of a drug dealer and a female friend were gunned down, police say.
Criminals have ‘thrown out’ the rules of the Sydney underworld after the ex-partner of a drug dealer and a female friend were gunned down, police say.
Mother of two Lametta Fadallah, 48, and hairdresser Amy Hazouri, 39, were murdered on Saturday night in Sydney’s southwest, with extraordinary audio and video showing the sheer number of bullets fired as the two women were shot dead.
Police said Ms Fadlallah, who is a business owner, has previously had links with organised crime. However, she was not believed to have had a criminal history.
Sources said she was previously in an eight-year relationship with standover man and drug dealer Helal Safi, who was found dead last year.
The two women died in an “organised murder” after a silver Toyota 4WD was pierced by a hail of bullets just before 10pm on Saturday.
NSW Police said on Sunday the deaths show criminals in Sydney’s underworld had “torn up” the underworld’s rules of never targeting women and family members.
The targeted vehicle then fled less than 1km to a Weston street, Revesby, where Ms Fadlallah died.
A man who said he was Ms Fadlallah’s son was escorted into the property by police on Sunday afternoon.
He told The Australian he was “devastated” by the loss of his mother.
Ms Hazouri was taken to Liverpool hospital in a critical condition, but could not be saved.
Two other occupants, a 20-year-old man driving and a 16-year-old girl in the passenger seat, were not injured, police said
NSW Police Superintendent Danny Doherty said criminals “just don’t care” about old underworld norms and were now attacking women and family members of their targets.
“It’s really unusual. There used to be an unwritten law with the criminal element, especially an organised crime criminal element: you don’t touch family, you don’t touch women,” he said on Sunday.
“I think that the rules of engagement have been thrown out the window. It’s disregarded now.
“They just don’t care anymore. This demonstrates how low they’ve got to – this point where any person who may be associated with someone that they want to target, they don’t care if you’re male or female.”
Neighbours on Hendy Avenue, Panania, where the shooting occurred, say they heard about eight gunshots.
Police were still combing the street on Sunday afternoon. A suspected bullet casing was discovered more than 200m from the scene.
Broken glass, which police suspect may be from the vehicle that was shot, was on the ground 400m from the scene of the attack.
Another neighbour told The Australian he walked over following the shooting and saw three bullet casings in the middle of the road.
“It just sounds like they unloaded the clip,” he said.
One woman who lives at the house where the victims were found said she saw an ambulance and police attempting to save the victims.
A Victorian plated Peugeot 3008 parked in the driveway of the victim’s house was towed away on Sunday afternoon.
Superintendent Doherty said the attack showed signs of being a “methodical, planned murder”.
“It bares the hallmarks of an organised murder and that concerns us,” he added.
“We can’t get away from the fact that this is unprecedented and unusual to see two women lose their lives in this fashion, in what looks like a very organised, targeted hit on two women.”
He said there was no obvious link to the gang war that has consumed Sydney’s west, killing 11 people in two years.
“There is no evidence at all that it’s linked to the current conflict or any other conflict. We have to look at this matter on its own,” Superintendent Doherty said.
“Of course we keep our mind open to any other links or any other types of conflict but at the moment there is no information or evidence to suggest that.
“But the motive for this one is still unclear. It appears to be a targeted attack. It appears the 48-year-old woman had had some links in the past, but we’ve obviously got to look at her current relationships and business associations her previous relationships, her previous associations. They’re the things we’re doing now and we’re determined to get the answers.”
Uni drop-out rates hit record high for Australian students
Domestic students are dropping out of their degrees at record rates. See which courses are the hardest hit.
IMF inflation warning: World goes low as we stay high
Australia’s run of high inflation is on track to exceed all advanced economies except Slovakia’s, according to new IMF forecasts that will increase pressure on the Albanese government and the Reserve Bank.