Sydney Mayor’s Car Firebombed Amid Wider Attacks In South-West

A car belonging to Western Sydney mayor Ola Hamed was destroyed in a suspected firebombing, as police investigate a string of shootings and arson attacks across Sydney’s south-west.

The Mercedes-Benz, registered to the Cumberland mayor’s husband, was found on fire just after 3am on Saturday in a residential street in Merrylands, damaging two nearby vehicles.

Police are yet to establish whether the attack was politically, personally or racially motivated.

Hamed was elected Cumberland mayor in 2024 and is the first Muslim woman to hold the role.

She first joined the council in 2017 as a Labor candidate following the formation of the merged local government area stretching from Rookwood to Girraween via Merrylands.

Detective Superintendent Jason Box said investigators are reviewing CCTV footage and believe those involved may have used e-bikes or motorbikes to flee the scene.

The firebombing came amid a wider night of violence across south-west Sydney.

Just before 2am, an eruption of gunfire was reported at a barber shop in Casula, and about two hours later, a café in South Wentworthville was allegedly set alight.

The escalation continued into the morning, with police responding to reports of shots fired at a home on Fairmont Street in Merrylands around 7.45am, followed by another scene on Woodstock Street in Granville just after 8.15am.

No one was injured in the shootings.

Two people, aged 17 and 21, were later arrested after a short pursuit in Smithfield, where officers allegedly seized a firearm from an abandoned vehicle.

Both have been charged with multiple offences and are due to appear in court on Sunday.

Police said some of the locations targeted are linked to the Alameddine crime family, as per the ABC, and investigators are examining whether the incidents are connected or part of retaliatory violence.

NSW Police Taskforce Falcon, set up to target organised crime in western Sydney, has been placed on high alert.

Detective Superintendent Box warned the incidents carry a risk of further retaliation, saying gangland-related violence can extend beyond those directly involved.

No charges have been laid over the firebombing, with investigations continuing across all incidents.