The Hamzy crime family in Sydney allegedly offered hitmen multi-million-dollar bounties to eliminate rivals from the Alameddine clan. This revelation comes in the wake of a shocking shooting incident that occurred nearly four years ago, where young children were nearly struck during a botched daylight attack.

On November 29, 2021, gunfire erupted at World Gym in Prospect, with bullets narrowly missing toddlers at a nearby daycare center. Security footage later revealed how close the children came to being hit, as bullets struck the wall just inches away from them. Until now, details of this failed assassination attempt had been kept under wraps due to extensive suppression orders related to several ongoing cases.

According to court documents, a member of the Hamzy family, whose identity is protected for legal reasons, offered a hit squad $2 million to kill one member of the Alameddine organized crime network and $800,000 for another. This information surfaced as one of the gunmen involved in the attack appealed his 23-year prison sentence.

The gunman, identified only as Person 1, pleaded guilty to four counts of shooting with intent to murder. He was reportedly recruited by a senior Hamzy family member after accumulating a $30,000 drug debt. The court documents indicate that Person 1 later enlisted two additional men to assist in targeting members of the Alameddine network.

At the time, the Hamzy and Alameddine families were embroiled in a violent feud that resulted in seven deaths over an 18-month period in Western Sydney. The court heard that the Hamzy patriarch initially planned to supply the crew with a revolver and later two assault rifles. Eventually, the trio was offered $1 million to kill Alameddine members and provided with photographs of their targets.

On the day of the shooting, the crew spotted Alameddine members John Bayssari, Patrick Khoury, Murat Gulasi, and Mohammed Noorzai entering the gym around 11:30 a.m. The three assailants fired 18 shots from assault rifles out of a car window, hitting only Murat Gulasi, who was later dragged to safety inside the gym after suffering multiple leg fractures. Gulasi died of unrelated natural causes in Türkiye two years later.

One of the firearms used in the attack failed to discharge because one of the assassins left the safety on, according to court testimony. Following the failed hit, the men reportedly planned a second attack before their arrest weeks later.

The Court of Criminal Appeal's judgment provides insight into the Hamzy patriarch's organization of the hit and marks a significant moment in Sydney's ongoing gangland conflicts. The violence between the Hamzy and Alameddine families has resulted in the deaths of two innocent bystanders.

During the original sentencing, a District Court judge labeled Person 1 a "paid hitman" and noted his remorse upon learning that children were nearly harmed. Recently, the Criminal Court of Appeal reduced Person 1's sentence to 15 years, with a non-parole period of 10 years and six months.