Two shooters are on the run after an underworld figure known as the “angel of death” was gunned down outside an apartment building in western Sydney.

Tarek Ayoub, 29, was treated by paramedics at the scene of the 3.30am shooting in Parramatta on Monday but could not be saved.

His killers remain on the run.

The Yagoona man was a well-known figure in organised crime circles and was referred to as “the angel of death”, NSW homicide squad commander Danny Doherty said. His criminal record included charges of accessory to murder, firearm offences and drug offences.

“Mr Ayoub certainly lived by the sword and died by the sword,” Doherty said on Monday.

Such was Ayoub’s reputation, police were having a hard time drawing up a shortlist of potential killers. Doherty said there were “too many suspects, too many motives” in the fatal shooting.

“So far we’ve established that he was visiting an associate at Parramatta, where he was shot down in the hail of bullets [in an] execution-style murder in this car park,” he said.

“When I say multiple times, it’s a large number of shots.”

The person Ayoub was visiting in the minutes before the shooting is assisting NSW Police.

“All those lines of inquiries, his moments beforehand, how he got to Parramatta, his vehicle, who may have known he was going to be at that location, they will be lines of inquiry that we will continue to make,” Doherty said.

Police say Tarek Ayoub was a well-known underworld figure. Photo: Supplied

Efforts also continued on Monday to suppress any likely violent retribution.

Ayoub’s shooting is the first gangland-related murder in Sydney in six months, prompting police concern that it could trigger another outbreak of public violence.

“This was a message sent to Tarek and it was certainly received,” Doherty said.

“I think it is a point where it was very loud and clear that they meant to kill him and they left a large number of casings behind to show that they meant business.”

The murder scene in Harold Street, Parramatta, was still cordoned off mid-morning as specialist forensic police investigated.

A second crime scene was set up in nearby Granville, where a stolen Audi SUV was found alight about 3.45am.

Two men were reportedly seen leaving the scene in another vehicle, police said.

Investigators were unsure if the two incidents were connected but the fire was being treated as suspicious.

The fire took 45 minutes to put out and threatened nearby cars and properties, Fire and Rescue NSW said.

-with AAP