Fadi Ibrahim gangland-style hit

A LONE assassin's gangland-style hit on the brother and right-hand man of Kings Cross nightclub baron John Ibrahim has ruptured Sydney's underbelly.

His body filled with five bullets, Fadi Ibrahim, 35, remained in a critical but stable condition in intensive care at Royal North Shore Hospital. His girlfriend, 23, shot in the legs, was in another room at the hospital.

They were like sitting ducks in a black Lamborghini, parked outside Ibrahim's Castle Cove mansion, when a gunman approached at 11.30pm on Friday and opened fire.

His older brother John, 38, who owned his first Kings Cross nightclub at age 19 and now promotes 17 clubs around the city, later rejected offers of police protection.

John rushed to his brother's bedside after learning that a gunman had shot and wounded him and his girlfriend. He left the hospital about 5.30pm yesterday exhausted and in tears.

Chatswood police commander Superintendent Peter Yeomans said police believed the gunman intended to kill Fadi. He was shot once in the arm and four times in the abdomen. A sixth bullet passed through his girlfriend's right leg. She is in a stable condition.

"I think it would be quite obvious from his injuries, on the upper part of his body, that the person tried to kill the male in the vehicle," Superintendent Yeomans said.

Detectives have seized CCTV footage from six security cameras installed around the imposing Neerim Road home, which apparently has bulletproof shutters on its windows.

Police said a lone gunman fired through the driver's-side window of the vehicle before fleeing. It is unclear if the gunman emerged from the darkness of the Castle Cove Country Club golf course opposite the house.

Witnesses said they saw the victims lying on the ground after the shooting.

A 17-year-old neighbour, said: "The lights on the Lambo were still on. They were boyfriend and girlfriend, the cops said." But very few people came out of their homes to see what was happening, he said.

"The people that live two doors down didn't even know what happened. They just saw them lying in the driveway. There was absolutely no one else around."

Steve, 18, said he rushed to the scene after hearing sirens. "There were multiple ambulances and police cars there. About five or six ambulances."

Witnesses said they heard police refer to a "black lowered car waiting for them when they got home", maybe a Holden Commodore.

A female neighbour, who did not wish to be identified, said Ibrahim usually kept to himself.

"[The house] was completely redone in the last year. A lot of investment has gone into it," she said.

Superintendent Yeomans said Fadi and his girlfriend were under heavy guard in the hospital, and police feared reprisal attacks.

The gang squad investigating recent shootings between rival outlaw motorbike gangs and moves by bikies to take over Kings Cross security operators joined the investigation yesterday, but the squad commander Superintendent Mal Lanyon said there was nothing to indicate any links to bikie activities. Last night, charge of the investigation was handed to Detective Superintendent Debbie Wallace, head of the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad.

Outside the hospital yesterday, a visibly distressed John Ibrahim did not comment after discussing his brother's condition with doctors.

The family's lawyer, Stephen Alexander, confirmed Fadi was being treated by hospital staff.

A hospital spokeswoman said Fadi was likely to undergo more surgery today. And the family issued a statement expressing their appreciation to the staff. "As they understand the matter is under police investigation, they wish to make no further comment," Mr Alexander said.

The attack on Fadi follows a raid on his house in April, during which almost $300,000 in unexplained cash was seized by the Crime Commission. Also in April detectives from the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad found more than $3 million in cash in the roof of a house owned by Fadi's sister, Maha Sayour, at South Wentworthville. Police believe it belongs not to John and his older brother, Hassan (or "Sam"), but their younger brothers, Michael and Fadi.

During the Wood royal commission, John and Sam Ibrahim were quizzed about their role in the illegal drug industry. For years, Sam was one of the best-known members of the Nomads outlaw motorcycle club. He was arrested in 2004 and held on remand following a shooting at the Nomad's Newcastle clubhouse.

Michael Ibrahim is serving 6½ years' jail for his role in the stabbing death of Robin Nassour, the brother of TV actor George Nassour.