The bodyguard of Sydney nightclub identity John Ibrahim is recovering in hospital after he was shot amid preparations for a wedding involving another notorious Sydney family, the Mehajers.
Semi "Tongan Sam" Ngata, 59, was found with a gunshot wound to his back at Merrylands on Friday night.
The family had been preparing for a wedding between Mr Ibrahim's nephew and the sister of controversial former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer.
Mr Ngata was taken to Westmead Hospital in a serious condition and by Saturday afternoon he was listed as stable after undergoing surgery.
Chief Inspector Bradfield Peters says the gunman may have snuck onto the property through a side fence before firing the shot in the backyard.
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"It is certainly brazen. We believe that the attack is certainly not random," Inspector Peters told reporters at Merrylands Police Station.
"A number of police will be deployed tonight to ensure that the community is safe."
Two men were seen setting up the backyard on Saturday morning with flowers and chairs, and one of them said a wedding will take place later that night.
The pavement outside was scrawled with the words "Sam + Aisha 18.11.17".
Chief Insp Bradfield said detectives were canvassing the area and the investigation into the shooting was ongoing.
A car was set alight in nearby Rees Street at Mays Hill shortly after the attack, however a police spokeswoman said no link had been confirmed.
John Ibrahim's mother lives on Price Street in Merrylands.
A neighbour who heard the shooting said police and emergency services arrived quickly.
"We heard there was a noise, like when somebody is shot from a gun," the woman told the ABC.
"My husband checked from the window, the police had blocked the street."
Mr Ngata has been a long-time trusted bodyguard of the Ibrahim family and was described in Mr Ibrahim's autobiography, released this year, as "the last of his kind: the old-school real tough men".
"Even blood couldn't make us closer," Mr Ibrahim wrote.
His brothers, Fadi and Michael, and his son, Daniel, are currently before the NSW courts accused of being involved in an international tobacco and drug-smuggling conspiracy.
Ibrahim's model girlfriend, Sarah Budge, is facing firearms and ammunition charges following a series of organised raids and arrests across Sydney and the United Arab Emirates in August.
