Concerned members of a southwest Sydney gym where a father-of-three was brutally gunned down in front of his young son have pleaded with the owners to relocate classes amid fears of more bloodshed.
Elite Fight Force co-owners Adam Omar, also known as ‘Boxa Yass’, and professional fighter Hany Sbat closed their MMA gym in Sefton on Thursday after their friend Taha Sabbagh, 40, was executed in the carpark.
Over the next few days, Mr Omar and Mr Sbat were bombarded with messages from worried gym-goers – which runs classes for children as young as five – requesting future personal training sessions be moved to a nearby park.
But the gym has refused to be spooked into changing its routine, with the owners working to soothe members’ fears this week as the facility reopened.
Elite Fight Force owners Adam Omar (pictured left), also known as ‘Boxa Yass’, and Hany Sbat (right) have called on supporters to rally behind the gym in the wake of the shooting
‘We have been getting a few messages regarding holding PTs at the park,’ the gym wrote on Instagram.
‘I want to firmly let everyone know this is not an option. Elite Fight Force is our home, we’ve been teaching classes and holding personal training sessions here over the last year, and this is not going to change now.’
The owners said they did not condone or have ‘any control’ over the gangland murder and it was the first time the gym had ever been targeted.
‘This has never happened in the history of the gym and god willing will never occur again,’ the post continued.
‘EEF has always been and will always be a safe, Islamic and family friendly gym.’
‘Plenty of our 5-year-old and 7-year-old customers will still be training with us, we thank those who are still with us for their loyalty and will see you all on Monday.’
The gym called on its members to share the post on their stories if they ‘stood with EEF’, with more than 10 supporters quickly uploading it to their pages.
Meanwhile, others have shared testimonials rallying behind the gym as they grapple to maintain their reputation.
Taha Sabbagh (pictured) was gunned down while sitting in his car in the gym’s car park on Thursday morning
‘I speak as someone who has trained at Elite Fight Force for over three years, spending time almost on a daily basis with my brothers,’ one man wrote.
Elite Fight Force issued an Instagram post on Sunday saying classes and personal training sessions would remain at the gym
‘I have only ever seen good from those at the gym. People of integrity and good character…. and go out of their way to help others.
‘What happened is no doubt a tragedy.. [But] to myself, this is no reflection on the gym or what it is built upon.’
Mr Sabbagh was dropping his son to a 6.30am boxing class on Thursday when he was ambushed by two offenders and shot up to 10 times as he sat in his black Mercedes SUV.
Police believe at least two offenders fired the shots out of a Mazda 3. The car was later found burnt out at Birrong train station, nearby.
Underworld sources have said Mr Sabbagh’s assassination was either a case of mistaken identity or potentially retribution for the kidnapping and extortion of a jeweller last year.
Daily Mail Australia does not suggest Mr Sabbagh was behind the kidnapping, but it is understood that his killing could have been a ‘warning sign’ to criminal gang members, some of whom train the Elite Fight Force gym.
Police forensic officers examined the scene of a fatal shooting outside the Elite Fight Force mixed martial arts gym in Sefton, Sydney, Thursday, March 2, 2023
The Mazda 3 used in the shooting was later found burnt out at the nearby Birrong Train Station
It is also not suggested that the jeweller, who is currently abroad, is involved in criminal activity or the killing of Mr Sabbagh or that Mr Sbat or Mr Omar are involved in criminal activity.
NSW Police Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said police believe the shooting was a ‘targeted attack’ but would investigate whether Mr Sabbagh was ‘the intended target’.
‘He was not well known to police, he was associated with some people who are well known to police and have strong criminal activity connected to them,’ he said.
‘The people that have perpetrated this murder have no regard for human life, knowing there was a 12-year-old boy in the car and still carrying out the execution in front of him.’
While police are still working to determine if Mr Sabbagh was the intended victim, it has been claimed that members of crime families have attended the gym in the past.
Omar Zahed (left) was shot dead at an Auburn gym in a gangland hit while his brother Tarek (right) survived 10 bullet wounds
It can also be revealed that slain Comanchero bikie Omar Zahed followed Elite Fight Force and the gym’s owners on Instagram.
Mr Omar also followed the assassinated bikie in return.
Zahed, 39, was killed and his brother Tarek, 42 – who is a senior member of the bikie club – left blind in one eye after they were shot in a hail of at least 20 bullets as they left the Bodyfit Gym in Auburn, western Sydney, on May 10, 2022.
After a miraculous recovery, Tarek was arrested last October and remains before the courts over the alleged gangland murder of 29-year-old Youssef Assoum, who was found bleeding out in Bankstown in 2014.
Earlier this week, Mr Omar reposted a screen grab of a news report about the gym counting criminal associates among its members with the caption ‘Don’t believe everything you hear’.
Another member of the gym shared the same news snippet, which said there was no suggestion the gym was involved in criminal activity, saying the line was ‘proof’ the gym doesn’t engage in nefarious activities.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Omar and Mr Sbat for comment.
