Sydney tenants tell of shooting terror

Recordings of frantic triple zero calls have revealed the chaotic moments after a property manager was shot in the neck during a near-fatal meeting in Sydney's south-west.

Stephen Smith, 66, was allegedly shot by an elderly neighbour from close range with a shortened .22 calibre pistol after a simmering feud escalated dramatically in April 2014.

Ilie Istudor, 87, is facing a special hearing to determine if the charges against him, including intent to kill, can be proven and whether mental illness is available to him as a defence.

Sydney's Downing Centre Court heard Romanian-born Istudor had long promised to remove Mr Smith "legally or illegally" as a strata building manager over a proposed increase in levies at his Lakemba unit block.

Analiza Tumang, who was among seven residents at the April 2014 tenants meeting, said Istudor stormed downstairs after shouting and slamming a table into the floor during a heated argument with Mr Smith.

She said Istudor returned two minutes later brandishing a "Ned Kelly-style" antique gun, pointing the firearm towards Mr Smith while standing right next to her.

Ms Tumang said the next thing she heard was a light bulb explode, before seeing Mr Smith lying bleeding heavily on the floor.

"I said to him `you're bleeding, you're bleeding, you're bleeding'," she told the court.

"He (Smith) turned around and tackled Mr Istudor."

Mr Smith described in court the deafening sound and burning sensation of being shot through the neck.

"There was a noise... a deafening sound, and glass breaking," Mr Smith said.

"I felt a burning sensation in my neck and blood dropped onto the papers where I was writing."

Mr Smith said his survival instincts kicked in when he saw the arm of a gun about two metres from his face.

"I just dived for the arm of the gun so I wouldn't get shot again," he told the court.

"I had my hand over my neck to try to stop the bleeding, and realised there was also a hole in the back of my neck."

In a triple zero call played in court, Ms Tumang recounted the incident while Mr Smith sat bleeding badly beside her.

"Out of the blue this guy went downstairs then he came back and brought the gun and shot our manager," she told the operator.

Mr Smith, with cloths pressed tight against wounds on either side of his neck, then picked up the phone.

"I've been shot in the neck by one of the owners, I'm bleeding everywhere, I need an ambulance," he said.

Neighbour Amani Farhat said Istudor spoke constantly of his gripes with the strata body.

"He told me that there's going to be a meeting, and I'd prefer men to be there and not women, because it's going to be serious and you don't know what's going to happen," she told the court.

"He was very stiff and angry at that time."

The court has heard Istudor admitted stashing the gun ahead of the meeting and shooting it but also told police he had aimed at a wall and not Mr Smith.

The special hearing is set to continue on Friday.