Gang war fear in Sydney killings

SYDNEY - Police have yet to determine whether a gang war was behind a double fatal shooting at a Sydney Harbour wharf at the weekend.

Two men in their 20s were killed when at least 10 shots were fired from a black BMW on Hickson Rd at the premiere tourist area of The Rocks on Saturday, close to some of Sydney's most exclusive real estate.

Police seized the vehicle in the western suburb of Auburn when a 25-year-old man was arrested and charged with traffic offences. He has since been released on bail and the car is still being examined. He will appear at Burwood Local Court on May 9.

Investigators said the victims of The Rocks shootings - Naser Ghaderi, 25, from Merrylands, and Keyvan Ghajaloo, 24, from Westmead - were known to police but would not say what for.

Commander of Task Force Gain, which is handling the investigation, Superintendent Mark Henney, said yesterday that the same car was believed to have been involved in another shooting at inner-western Stanmore about 4am, less than an hour after the incident at The Rocks.

"There's information ... which would indicate that the vehicle was the vehicle in the Stanmore incident," Henney said in Sydney.

He said he could not indicate whether the driver of the BMW was involved in the incident but police had interviewed him about the shootings. "What we have to determine is who was using the vehicle at the specific time."

While he could not rule out a gang war being behind the shootings, police had no clear evidence to establish a motive. The motive could be unrelated to any criminal matter.

Henney could also not confirm whether the shootings were linked to another one outside the Verandah Bar at Martin Place on March 20.

Ghaderi's sister, Farideh, said: "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Ghaderi was a Kurdish Turk who came to Australia with his family in 1993.

- AAP