A promising rugby league player has been accused of helping organise a failed attempt to kill a relative of the notorious Alameddine family as the man picked up his teenage daughter from a school in Sydney’s south-west.
Police have disclosed disturbing new details of what they describe as an “extremely targeted and calculated attack” after strike force officers arrested 19-year-old David Kulitapa on Wednesday.
The 44-year-old father and his 15-year-old daughter were sitting in a ute outside a high school in Fairfield West at about 3pm on June 9 when a gunman allegedly opened fire at the windscreen.
The pistol reportedly jammed, prompting both victims to escape from the vehicle.
The alleged shooter then turned the weapon towards the girl and attempted to fire again, but the pistol jammed for a second time.
CCTV footage showed the father and daughter running down a nearby side street in an effort to reach safety.
After an extensive investigation, officers from State Crime Command’s Taskforce Falcon arrested Kulitapa during a traffic stop at Sans Souci on Wednesday.
Police do not allege that he was the gunman or the driver involved in the incident.
David Kulitapa is accused of coordinating a botched assassination attempt targeting a father and his teenage daughter outside a Fairfield West school in June
CCTV footage showed the man and girl running to safety after they were allegedly targeted by gunfire
Kulitapa was charged with knowingly directing the activities of a criminal group, along with two counts of attempting to discharge loaded firearms with intent to murder and other offences.
A number of the charges relate to a search of a property in Cronulla, where police allegedly found a knife and illicit drugs.
Kulitapa did not seek bail when he appeared on Thursday and will remain in custody until his case returns to court on December 17.
Investigators believe the highly targeted attack was commissioned from overseas.
Police will allege that Kulitapa, an apprentice renderer and emerging rugby league player, carried out preliminary tasks linked to the planned shooting.
Detective Acting Superintendent Jason Smith said Kulitapa was allegedly involved in several preparations, including arranging vehicles, conducting physical surveillance and using tracking devices to follow the victims’ movements.
Det Supt Smith confirmed that the alleged victims were not directly involved in the underworld conflict between the Alameddine crime gang and its rival, the Coconut Cartel.
Det Supt Smith confirmed the alleged victims were not directly involved in Sydney’s underworld feud between the Alameddine crime gang and rival group the Coconut Cartel.
David Kulitapa faces charges including knowingly directing the activities of a criminal group and two counts of attempting to discharge loaded firearms with intent to murder
“We believe the two victims were targeted simply because of their family association,” Det Supt Smith said.
‘They had not done anything to anyone to deserve to be a victim of this type of crime.
‘It’s hard to know whether they knew the girl was there or not (but) it’s in a busy street, at school pick-up time, the possibility there would be children or other people in the vicinity is quite high.’
The father and daughter were distressed but uninjured following the near miss.
They remain traumatised by the ordeal, according to police.
‘I’m not sure how you would ever get over something like this … they are understandably still affected by the incident, particularly the young girl,’ Det Supt Smith said.
The manhunt for the alleged gunman continues.
‘We will continue to investigate this until we identify every person involved in the offence and we will put them before the court,’ Det Supt Smith said.
Anyone with information that may assist investigations into organised criminal activity is urged to contact Crime Stoppers