A gunman is on the loose after an underworld figure with a reported $1 million bounty on his head was shot dead in a suspected gangland killing in Sydney’s west.

Police say it’s a miracle no one else was injured or killed when the man was gunned down in a hail of bullets on suburban Sydney street in an “incredibly brazen and callous murder”.

The hit appears to be another chapter in the city’s gang wars, with media outlets naming the victim as underworld figure Mahmoud “Brownie” Ahmad.

The ABC and The Daily Telegraph are reporting that a $1 million bounty had been placed on Ahmad’s head by an underworld crime rival.

Ahmad was released from jail just six months ago after serving a manslaughter sentence over the fatal shooting of a man outside a Condell Park smash repair shop in 2016.

NSW Police said emergency services responded to a call about 9.30pm on Wednesday at Narelle Crescent, Greenacre, following reports a man had been shot.

Officers found a man with gunshot wounds who was treated by paramedics but died at the scene.

Homicide Squad Commander Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said the 39-year-old had been visiting an associate before the shooting.

Assailants were laying in wait for him, and Ahmad faced “a large number of bullets” when he left the house.

“Obviously the intention was to kill him and they were going to do that by firing as many bullets at him as they could, and they were successful in their intention,” Superintendent Doherty said.

“Multiple shots were fired at Brownie Ahmad and it resulted in his death.

“The amount of people with Ahmad at the time in the street – it’s an absolute miracle that no one else got hit.

“It is an actual miracle that no one else got hurt.”

The dead man is yet to be formally identified and is believed to be aged in his late 30s.

The gunman remains on the run and a black Porsche sedan and black BMW were found on fire at Strathfield and Belmore a short time later.

Superintendent Doherty said Ahmad had been warned by police that he was a “marked man”. He left the country for Lebanon, before returning.

“He continued to associate with people of the criminal milieu and did not want to hide,” Superintendent Doherty said.

“His life was always in danger. He was always going to end up a victim of circumstances.

“He has ended up in the morgue as a result.”

Superintendent Doherty said police were looking for more than one offender, and there was a “long list of persons of interest”.

The investigation, led by homicide detectives and crime gang squad members, targets known members and associates of criminal networks.

Superintendent Doherty urged anyone who had information to come forward.

“We need help and information from the community so we can put these people away,” he said.

Ahmad is the brother of slain underworld figure Walid “Wally” Ahmad, who was gunned down in 2016 while sitting at a busy cafe at a Bankstown shopping mall.

The state opposition is concerned about the shooting, saying there have been at least 35 major violent incidents involving gangs in NSW since June 2020.

“Crime gangs are carrying out attacks with impunity,” Labor’s police spokesman Walt Secord said.

“Frankly, I’m less concerned about feuding gangsters killing each other and far more concerned about innocent bystanders getting killed in the crossfire.

“Who knows where a stray bullet could end up in the dark?”

He said the NSW government wasn’t doing enough to tackle violent crime.

“If this was happening on Sydney’s north shore, the Perrottet government would be throwing all the resources it can to stop the violence,” Mr Secord said.

-with AAP