Two Men Injured In Western Sydney Shooting Over Weekend

Two men are in hospital after being hit multiple times in a shooting in Western Sydney on Sunday evening.

A Toyota HiLux carrying four people was driving onto Woodville Road on the border of Granville and Parramatta at around 5:10pm when several shots were fired by the occupants of a Mercedes.

The driver, 32-year-old Dawood Zakaria, and a passenger, Sylvan Singh, were both injured and rushed to hospital, where Zakaria underwent emergency surgery.

The other two passengers, Samimjan Azari, 26, and Levi Vitukawalu, 28, escaped the incident uninjured.

Zakaria remains in a critical condition, while Singh is stable.

Police say the shooting is an escalation of Sydney’s gangland activities, with Zakaria allegedly having links to the Alameddine crime family.

A firearm was seized from the Toyota by police, with Azari and Vitukawalu kept under guard at the scene before being led away after 7pm.

Both men were charged with possessing an unauthorised pistol and acquiring a pistol subject to firearms prohibition rules.

The pair were refused bail and will appear in Parramatta Local Court on Monday.

Police minister “horrified”

Shortly after responding to the shooting, police and fire crews were called to Sherwood Street in Merrylands West after reports of a car fire.

When officers arrived, they found a Mercedes and nearby tree ablaze.

Crime scenes were established at both locations, with investigators saying the incidents were likely linked.

The shooting breaks the pattern of gangland attacks in Sydney, which usually involve drive-by shootings of a home, or shootings in secluded or suburban streets late at night. Sunday’s shooting took place on a busy street under the M4 overpass, with heavy traffic, in the early evening.

In a statement on Sunday night, Minister for Police and Counter-Terrorism Yasmin Catley urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.

“I am horrified by the level of violence we have seen on our streets tonight,” she said.

“I understand the community is concerned, and rightly so. I want to assure them that police are working around the clock to identify and arrest those responsible.”