A convicted underworld kidnapper and former professional boxer is fighting for life after being shot in a drive-by shooting in Sydney's west overnight. The ABC understands ex-champion boxer Humzah Khalid, 26, presented to Auburn Hospital with gunshot wounds shortly after multiple shots were fired into a car at Chester Hill.
Police say a gunman in a black ute pulled up next to a car on Campbell Hill Road about 11:30pm Wednesday and fired multiple shots. Mr Khalid remains in a critical condition and is expected to undergo surgery on wounds to his leg on Thursday. Bankstown Police Commander Detective Superintendent Rod Hart said the victim was “well known to police” and the attack had “all the hallmarks of a gangland hit”.
As a boxer, Mr Khalid fought under the nickname 'the raging bull', but his fighting career was cut short in 2022 when he was arrested on kidnapping charges. He was later convicted over two violent 2021 abductions where Sydney businessmen Sam Amine and Youssef Nagi were taken from their homes and held hostage.
In a separate incident at the hospital, a senior police officer was allegedly attacked by a 30-year-old man believed to be the driver of the shot-up car. Superintendent Hart said the officer, a 58-year-old chief inspector with 40 years of service, was punched several times in the head in an “unprovoked attack” while speaking with the victim. The man was arrested and charged with assaulting a police officer in the execution of duty.
Earlier Wednesday evening, police responded to another violent incident at Greenacre where an officer was rammed between two cars. Public order and riot squad officers sighted a stolen Toyota C-HR on Juno Parade in Punchbowl about 8:40pm. When two officers attempted to arrest the driver at the intersection of Punchbowl Road, the vehicle accelerated and pinned one officer between two cars. The officer fired his gun three times, and the Toyota drove off.
Just after 9:15pm, police found a 32-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his right shoulder and wrist in a yard at Ryde. The stolen Toyota was located nearby. The man was taken to hospital in a stable condition and has been charged with offences including assault police officer in execution of duty cause actual bodily harm. Superintendent Hart said the officer had “grave fears for his life” and the decision to fire shots “saved his life”.
