Teenager allegedly tracked assassination targets for days before botched school shooting

Police have charged a Sydney teenager with orchestrating a botched plot to kill a relative of the notorious Alameddine crime family while he collected his 15-year-old daughter from a school in the city’s south-west.

The father, 44, and his daughter were sitting in a ute outside the school about 3pm on June 9 when a gunman tried to open fire on the vehicle but escaped when the assailant’s weapon jammed.

The gunman, wearing dark clothing and a black balaclava, chased the girl down the street and tried to shoot her, when his weapon jammed a second time. Nearby CCTV captured the pair escaping uninjured on foot as the gunman fled.

“We’re not aware of why the gun failed to fire. We are extremely thankful that it did. If that gun had functioned as intended, it would have been a catastrophic outcome,” Detective Acting Superintendent Jason Smith said.

This masthead previously revealed the pair was related to Mohamed Alameddine, a rising NSW Cup star contracted to the Parramatta Eels who was sidelined shortly after the botched assassination attempt over fears for his and his teammates’ safety.

Neither Mohamed Alameddine nor his relatives are involved in organised crime or accused of any wrongdoing. Detectives believe his relatives were targeted because of their relation to the Alameddine crime family, which has been the subject of sustained attacks from rival group the Coconut Cartel.

On Wednesday, detectives working under Taskforce Falcon arrested David Kulitapa, 19, who police allege was contracted by the Coconut Cartel’s offshore ringleaders to co-ordinate the shooting, during a traffic stop at Sans Souci in Sydney’s south.

Kulitapa, an apprentice renderer and promising rugby league player, was charged with two counts of attempting to shoot a person with intent to murder, installing and using a tracking device to find an object, possessing or using a banned weapon without a permit, dealing prohibited drugs, knowingly directing the activities of a criminal group, and supplying a prohibited drug greater than a small quantity.

Detectives allege Kulitapa co-ordinated the botched plot and surveilled the targets, including by fitting a tracking device to their car, before the assassination attempt. They believe Kulitapa had tracked the victims for several days.

“This was an extremely targeted and calculated attack,” Smith said.

“We believe the two victims were targeted simply because of a family association. They had not done anything to anyone to deserve to be a victim of this type of crime.”

An Instagram post from Kulitapa’s employer said the 19-year-old had a “keen interest in learning the ins and outs” of rendering.

“David is keen to absorb the knowledge and skills that will shape his career. His enthusiasm and fresh perspective are already proving to be a valuable asset to the team,” the post said, alongside a photograph of Kulitapa.

Smith said that “exceptional police work” had identified Kulitapa as the alleged orchestrator of the botched plot, after detectives reviewed CCTV and conducted covert surveillance on the 19-year-old.

Taskforce Falcon investigators have arrested and charged hundreds of teenagers since the operation was launched last May after the mistaken-identity killing of Condell Park plumber John Versace.

“We certainly have seen a trend, or an increase, in the use of young people to commit these offences,” Smith said.

“Not just the shootings but the acts of preparation. I think the reason for that is they are cheap and they’re expendable. They are often paid a very small sum of money to take part in these offences.”

Smith said young offenders increasingly involved in organised crime were motivated by notoriety.

“The thing they need to understand is that once you become involved in this type of criminal behaviour you really only have two things to look forward to. At best, you’ll be arrested and will and will go to jail, and at worst, you’ll end up dead,” Smith said.

Detectives have informed the man and his daughter of Tuesday’s arrest, Smith said.

“I’m not sure how you would ever get over something like this,” he said.

“They are understandably still affected by the incident, particularly the young girl.”

Kulitapa did not apply for bail when he faced Sutherland Local Court on Thursday, and will remain in custody until his next court appearance on December 17.

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