Witnesses to a brazen shooting at a hairdresser in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville at lunchtime on Friday have described seeing the two victims talking after they had been shot and residents fleeing for safety.
Police said the shooting at a salon on Marrickville Road, the inner-west suburb’s bustling main strip, at 1.50pm, was “obviously a targeted attack” and were exploring whether it was linked to another daylight shooting in Bondi Junction last month. The victim in that shooting was Sydney drug kingpin Alen Moradian.
One 33-year-old male was shot in the buttocks during Friday’s attack, while another 20-year-old male was shot in the chest.
Both men were treated by paramedics before being taken to hospital.
“One man is believed to be in a critical condition, while the other is believed to be in a stable condition,” a police spokesperson said.
A neighbouring business owner confirmed to the Guardian the shooting took place at Adel’s Salon, on Marrickville Road.
The business owner, who asked to remain anonymous, said he heard “six or seven shots” before seeing a man flee the scene, adding he saw him “jump into a car”.
“I heard six or seven shots, then they jumped in a car and escaped. I went inside Adel’s to see what happened, I see two guys injured, one in the back and one in the chest.
“They didn’t look too bad though, they were both talking and one of them stood up.”
A crime scene has been established and will be examined by specialist forensic officers, police said.
Police said two burnt-out vehicles found shortly afterwards in the area were linked to the shooting, with investigations ongoing.
“Soon after the alleged shooting, two vehicles which were in close proximity were set alight,” inner west police commander Supt Despa Fitzgerald said.
“One was located at Sydenham, which we believe was the getaway car, which was a Stinger vehicle, and the other one was a Mitsubishi Triton which was dumped at Hercules Street at Dulwich Hill and set alight.”
She called the attack “brazen” and said that police were looking at any connections to the Bondi Junction shooting. She also confirmed that Strikeforce Raptor, a specialist force that targets bikie activity, were assisting the investigation.
“It is very brazen. And that’s why we believe it’s obviously a targeted attack. It’s not random and it was fortunate that no other member of the public was involved in that incident.”
Jeffrey Gil, the owner of Cranes Newsagency, two buildings down from the shooting, said people jumped into his shop out of fear when the shots rang out.
“I didn’t realise what was happening initially, I thought it was an accident. I went out and saw two men sitting outside the barber shop,” he said.
“Police arrived very quickly, around eight police cars and six ambulance vehicles. People were afraid, some jumped into my shop out of fear.”
By mid-afternoon, many surrounding businesses had locked their doors or closed their businesses early.
One business owner who remained open said he wasn’t nervous about the shooting because it seemed like a targeted attack.
“I’ve been here for 30 years and Marrickville’s a lot softer now than it was back then,” he said. “It seemed like a targeted attack so this doesn’t scare me.”
Police believe two shooters were involved in the murder of Moradian last Tuesday at Bondi Junction.
Earlier this week, human remains were found in two burnt-out cars in two different parts of Sydney.
Skeletal remains were found inside a four-wheel drive in the Royal national park on Tuesday morning. At the same time, firefighters found a body in the driver’s seat of a hatchback in North Paramatta.
