A well-known Sydney boxer is fighting for life after he was the victim of a shooting that had ”all the hallmarks of a gangland hit”.
Humzah Khalid, 26, known by his nickname in the ring, ”The Raging Bull’, was hit when several bullets were fired at a car he and his friend, 30, were sitting in about 11.30pm on Campbell Hill Road, Chester Hill.
In a bizarre turn of events, his friend allegedly then bashed NSW Police Chief Inspector Adam Phillips as he tried to help them once they turned up at Auburn Hospital.
Detective Superintendent Rod Hart told media it was “[an] unprovoked attack on the chief inspector who was there investigating the attack”, with the man allegedly “punching that chief inspector a number of times in the head”.
Phillips, who was able to complete the arrest with the help of hospital staff, received a laceration to the head in the “cowardly” attack, according to Hart.
Khalid, 26, is now fighting for life in hospital, while his friend pleaded guilty to the alleged assault of Phillips at Burwood Local Court today.
The lawyer defending the man noted he may not have been in the best mindset when the alleged attack happened, given he had witnessed Khalid be shot in front of him.
Police were told several shots were fired from a black ute, with the attackers described as two men dressed in black, wearing balaclavas, and armed with a handgun.
Both cars left the scene before police arrived.
Khalid and his friend arrived at Auburn Hospital around five minutes later, with officers finding a Mercedes with multiple bullet holes in it in the hospital carpark.
Hart said the pair were well known to police.
“At this stage, we believe they are associates,” he said.
He said the 30-year-old had been the driver of the Mercedes and had taken Khalid to hospital.
The younger man, Hart said, was known to have organised crime links.
“It does have all the hallmarks of a gangland hit,” he said.
It was just one of two dramatic incidents involving police in Sydney overnight, where a police officer was pinned between two cars after being allegedly run over by a man in a stolen car.
Riot police were patrolling on Juno Parade in Punchbowl about 8.40pm when they spotted a Toyota CHR that had been allegedly stolen from Riverwood.
The Toyota stopped in traffic at the intersection with Punchbowl Road, and when a police sergeant approached the car to arrest the driver, the car allegedly accelerated, pinning the officer between it and the police vehicle.
The officer fired his gun three times and hit the Toyota before it drove off.
Paramedics treated the 39-year-old police officer for injuries to his lower leg and he was taken to hospital in a stable condition.
He has since been released, though he suffered major ligament damage.
Just after 9.15pm, police were called to Thorn Street, Ryde, after reports of an injured man walking along the street.
Officers found the Toyota CHR abandoned on Richard Johnson Crescent before locating a bloodied man, believed to be the driver, in the front yard of a home on Squires Street.
The 32-year-old man was taken to hospital in a stable condition, where he remains under police guard.
He had suffered two gunshot wounds, one to the right shoulder and one to his right wrist.
Hart said the man would be charged with serious offences after surgery, and that the police shooting would be reviewed.
He said the sergeant had “grave fears for his life” on being pinned.
“It was his decision at that time to fire those shots, which I believe did save his life,” he said.
Hart said the alleged car thief was known to police but had no organised crime links.
NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.
