'Please come forward': Detectives hunt for Sydney hitmen, renewing appeal for information
Police hope new CCTV of a white Subaru and a hooded man will help find the hitmen who fatally gunned down a Comanchero bikie outside his home in Sydney's west.
Fares Abounader, 39, was shot multiple times in a targeted drive-by attack in August 2020, while his wife and young child were inside their Panania house.
Strike Force Manifold detectives working on the case believe "there are people out there who may have intimate knowledge of the murder".
EXPLAINED: Why does Ukraine need foreign planes?
The killers and others may have used Deepwater Park, near the Georges River in Sydney's west, as a potential meeting point before and after the murders. Supplied
Detective Superintendent Grant Taylor said investigators have been "painstakingly" going through material over the last two years and are "slowly but surely making headway".
"Please come forward," he said.
"Now is the time.
"These are the types of people we want off the streets."
Detective Superintendent Taylor said the murderers had specific intentions.
"The purpose was to shoot him dead."
READ MORE: Car bursts into flames after head-on crash on Sydney Harbour Bridge
Detective Superintendent Grant Taylor said investigators were still looking for the shooter. 9News
A "Mr Blond" figure is one of two men police believe could have pulled the trigger, with the pair possibly operating as contract killers to Sydney's underworld.
Detective Superintendent Taylor said detectives have been working closely with those investigating Mejid Hamzy's 2020 murder and believe the two murder cases are "intrinsically linked".
"We want to make an appeal to the public, in regards to the murder of Fares Abounader and Mejid Hamzy - we believe that there are people out there who may have knowledge of both murders," he said.
Police called the man "Mr Blond" after they released CCTV footage of him last year running away from the scene of Hamzy's murder, when his black hood slipped from his head to reveal a distinctive mop of white blond hair.
The CCTV footage released today shows a white Subaru, which was found burned out at nearby Padstow the day after Mr Abounader was killed.
There is also security footage of a man running along Wall Avenue in Panania on the night Mr Abounader was shot.
Additional footage shows a man in a white hooded jumper walking along Carew Street in Padstow the following evening, around the time the Subaru was burnt out.
Detective Superintendent Taylor said the Subaru was seen travelling on Horsley Road in Panania, near Mr Abounader's home, before and after the murder.
LIVE UPDATES: Ukraine civilians come under attack
Police believe the two men they are looking for have knowledge and familiarity with the area, and could even live around the neighbourhood where Mr Abounader was shot dead. Supplied
"Investigations have since determined it was likely stored in a large unit complex on that road in the lead up to the shooting," he said.
"We believe those responsible are locals with an intimate knowledge of the Panania area."
The killers and others may have used Deepwater Park, near the Georges River in Sydney's west, as a potential meeting point before and after the murders, police believe.
In January, police launched a large land and underwater search of Deepwater Park.
Detectives have made one arrest in their 18-month investigation, an 18-year-old man with an alleged role in the theft of the Subaru.
Investigations are continuing.
Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Share a tip-off, video or photo with us
