Updated ,first published
A man with links to rap group OneFour has been killed and four others hospitalised after a targeted and brazen shooting in a south-west Sydney home.
Alai Ahio, 28, died at Liverpool Hospital on Tuesday night after he was shot at a Canley Vale home about 8.20pm. Another man was also gunned down, while three others suffered neck and shoulder injuries in the scuffle.
“We believe that this is a targeted attack, although the motive for this attack is unclear at this stage,” NSW Police Detective Superintendent Craig Middleton said on Wednesday.
“It’s a very brazen, violent attack.”
Investigators are aware of some organised crime links and the anti-gang Taskforce Falcon is “heavily involved” but it’s “early days”, Middleton said.
Police were alerted to the shooting about 8.20pm on Tuesday. Ahio and another man aged 32 arrived at Liverpool Hospital a short time later.
Ahio was treated for a gunshot wound but died. The other man remains in a serious but stable condition in intensive care with a neck injury, police said.
Two other men were transferred to other hospitals to undergo further treatment after they were taken to Fairfield Hospital. One of the men had been shot in the neck.
About 9.50pm, a 19-year-old presented to Liverpool Hospital in a stable condition with a shoulder injury.
In a social media tribute to Ahio one user encouraged others to “turn and give you (sic) life to Christ before it’s to (sic) late”.
“Love you lai running out on the field is not going to be the same without you next to me,” the tribute read.
A social media account linked to Ahio is tagged in photos with members of the western Sydney rap group OneFour. One picture also shows Ahio with “14” tattooed on his neck and police sources have confirmed the connection.
A crime scene has been established at the home on Arbutus Street where forensic officers were gathering evidence on Wednesday morning.
Investigators believe the five men were in the Canley Heights home together when the two other men arrived, shortly before shots were fired.
They fled the scene in a “white SUV-type vehicle” that is yet to be recovered, Middleton said.
Two cars used to drive the five men to hospital have been seized from an address in St Johns Park.
Officers placed several evidence markers inside the home’s garage, where the victims regularly gathered. A group of men were regularly seen in the garage with the door open.
Detectives removed several evidence bags from the property on Wednesday morning.
Premier Chris Minns said such violence “can never be justified, it cannot be tolerated”.
“These are shocking crimes and we don’t want to see it on Sydney’s streets,” he told reporters in Liverpool.
“It is distressing to see violent people in our community conduct this kind of assault on other Australians in our community, even if it’s from a rival criminal organisation as is often speculated.”
Get alerts on breaking news as it happens. Sign up for our Breaking News Alert.
Jack Gramenz is a breaking news reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
Sarah McPhee is the Overnight Homepage Editor for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
