A man was killed and another seriously wounded after they were ambushed outside a Sydney pub, police said.
The shooting took place outside the Harold Hotel in Forest Lodge at around 6.40pm local time on Sunday.
The men were walking to their car when they were attacked and the gunmen fled in a dark vehicle, police said, describing it as a “brazen and callous attack”.
The surviving victim, 31, was treated on the scene by paramedics and medical students before being taken to hospital, police said. The man who died was 39.
Multiple witnesses reported hearing up to 15 gunshots, many mistaking the sounds for fireworks.
Leichhardt police area commander, Alf Sergi, said that detectives believed multiple gunmen were involved and urged anyone with footage to come forward.
“We’re really looking for the public to give us information, to assist us with this heinous crime,” he told 2GB on Monday. “The 39-year-old male, he suffered gunshot wounds and fell to the ground. Police were nearby, and they treated the man with the help of a doctor that was a resident nearby, and also paramedics, but he, unfortunately, succumbed to his wounds.
“The 31-year-old man was chased by the offender. He was shot a number of times. He slumped at the back of the hotel.”
Mr Sergi said the survivor was “in a stable condition at this point in time”.
A pub worker narrowly avoided being hit by a bullet. “A bullet did hit a window and narrowly missed a female staff member,” Mr Sergi said. “It’s a narrow street there, and also the pub nearby, obviously the bullets were fired in that direction at the pub. It would have been very, very frightening.”
Police suspected it was a targeted attack “based on one of the victim’s backgrounds with possible links to organised criminal networks”.
Residents said the area was usually quiet and police were urging the public for dashcam footage to help track the shooters.
A resident identified by her first name, Charlotte, told ABC News that the man taken to the hospital was conscious while paramedics treated him.
“He’d been shot multiple times, maybe six times,” she said. “He’d been shot in the neck, the chest, the abdomen, arms, legs, just everywhere.”
Another resident named Tammy told the media outlet: “My first thought was they sound like gunshots, but then it was such rapid fire I actually thought it was firecrackers, until I saw a family running down the street and screaming.”
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