Breakthrough in Rydalmere club shooting case

Breakthrough in Rydalmere club shooting case

Milad Bin Ahmad Shah al-AhmadzaiAn Australian-born Islamic fundamentalist who has been under surveillance as a terror threat for four years is one of two men to have been arrested by police over a shooting at a club in Sydney’s west that left one man fighting for his life.

The shooting occurred in the car park of Rydalmere sex-on-premises venue Aarows as the 52-year-old victim was returning to his car at about 1am on Tuesday, May 1.

On its website, Aarows is described as a venue that “welcomes all genders whether Gay male/female, Bi, Tranny, or Male Female Swinging Couples and provides discreet rear private entry 24 hrs a day”.

The incident was captured by a number of nearby CCTV cameras and showed the victim being shot at three times after he disturbed two men who appeared to be trying to steal a car. The bullets narrowly missed the victim’s heart and spine.

Last Tuesday, police attached to Strike Force Maloney arrested and charged 23-year-old Milad Bin Ahmad-Shah Al-Ahmadzai (pictured) at Goulburn Jail, where he was already being held after he threatened a member of Australia’s Joint Counter Terrorism Team, also in May.

Yesterday, police also arrested an as-yet-unnamed 29-year-old man over the crime after detectives pulled over an Audi four-wheel-drive during a targeted car stop at Colechin Street, Yagoona. Police will allege they seized ammunition and balaclavas upon searching the vehicle.

The driver was taken to Bankstown Police Station where he was charged with a number of offences, including shoot with intent to murder, kidnapping, assault and car theft. He was also charged over a shooting outside a Smithfield kebab shop in late July. The man was expected to face Bankstown Local Court on Friday.

Police have also seized three pistols, two stolen vehicles, a quantity of prohibited drugs and a large amount of cash after conducting search warrants at homes in Auburn, Westmead and Merrylands, and a business at Rydalmere. A third man was arrested at the Westmead address and taken to Parramatta Police Station.

A breakthrough in the case came after police released video of the two alleged offenders speaking while in a stolen van on the way to the shooting near Aarows. Unbeknownst to the offenders, the van’s owner had earlier stored a video recording device near the vehicle’s front window which captured at least one of the men praying that no witnesses would happen to come across what they were planning.

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