A prominent Commancheros bikie and his brother have been sprayed by bullets outside a Sydney gym – with one man dead and the other fighting for his life.
The gang’s national sergeant-at-arms Tarek Zahed and his brother Omar were shot at 10 times outside Bodyfit Gym on Parramatta Road just after 8pm on Tuesday night.
One of the men was shot in the head while the other was hit by gunfire to the stomach, arms and legs.
Zahed, known as the ‘Balenciaga Bikie’, was arrested earlier this month and charged with charged with two counts of contravening serious crime prevention order as NSW Police continued its crackdown on organised crime.
So far there has been one fatality, but no confirmation who has died. The other remains in critical condition.
A white Audi stationwagon was found engulfed in flames in nearby Berala, with police investigating its links to the shooting.
Images from the scene show emergency services treating the victims, with large pools of blood visible on the ground.
Officers have cordoned off the street and traffic is being diverted away from the busy road.
Despite the efforts of emergency services, one of the men has since died.
‘Officers from Auburn Police Area Command established a crime scene and have commenced an investigation with the assistance of police attached to the State Crime Command’s Raptor and Criminal Groups Squads.
‘A police operation is currently underway on Parramatta Road at Auburn with local diversions in place. Police are advising the community to avoid the area.’
The national sergeant-at-arms for the Comancheros was brought down by police in Sydney and charged with two counts of contravening serious crime prevention order.
The 41-year-old had been widely tipped to be the next national president of the outlaw motorcycle club after former leader Mick Murray was also arrested last week.
Police will allege that Zahed failed to notify officers of changes to his living arrangements while visiting NSW from Melbourne.
Zahed, his brothers Abdul and Omar and their associate Raouf Mousawel were also busted by police breaking lockdown laws in August last year after they were spotted walking in Drummoyne in the city’s inner-west about 2am.
The men allegedly became angry when police questioned why they were outside, and claimed they lived together and were ‘just exercising’.
Abdul and Omar Zahed are believed to live in Yagoona in Sydney’s south-west – more than 20km away from where they were allegedly spotted by police.
Public health orders ban anyone in Greater Sydney from travelling more than 5km from their home for exercise.
Tarek Zahed had been living within 5km of the Bay Run but was alleged to have broken lockdown rules by exercising with more than one other person. The group were expected to see a total of $14,000 in fines for the incident.