Wedding of Sam Sayour and Aisha Mehajer goes ahead after shooting at Merrylands
November 19 2017 - 6:10PM
Patrick Begley, Lucy Rickard
On Friday night, the Merrylands backyard was the scene of a shooting of the feared bodyguard of Sydney nightclub boss John Ibrahim.
Less than 24 hours later, it hosted the wedding of Ibrahim's nephew Sam Sayour to Aisha Mehajer, the sister of Salim Mehajer, the controversial former deputy mayor of Auburn Council.
Photos of the happy couple signing their wedding certificate were posted to social media by the bride's sister, Kat Sakalaki, late on Saturday night.
The wedding itself was a notably low-key affair for the Mehajer family. Two years ago, Salim Mehajer married his wife Aisha in a glitzy affair involving hundreds of guests, four helicopters, a fighter jet flyover and a sea plane –estimated to have cost at least $200,000.
Saturday's private nuptials took place in a marquee in the Price Street backyard of Ibrahim's mother, hidden from prying eyes.
From the street, there was little sign of a wedding taking place apart from the names of the bride and groom etched into the pavement above the wedding date.
Photos of the newlyweds showed Sayour in a pair of ripped jeans, and Aisha in an off-the-shoulder lace gown, in front of a flower wall with their wedding bands on the table.
According to the ABC, about 70 guests attended the ceremony, seated just metres from where Semi "Tongan Sam" Ngata was shot the previous night. All of the guests had left by midnight, the ABC reported.
The wedding of Sam Sayour and Aisha Mehajer. Photo: Instagram: katsakalaki
Neither John Ibrahim nor Salim Mehajer was believed to have been in attendance.
And on Sunday night, it still remained unclear what had sparked the shooting at the property.
The wedding of Sam Sayour and Aisha Mehajer. Photo: Instagram: anitta_adattini
A source told the Herald that, in a heated exchange a week ago, he had overheard a man known to the groom telling him he would be lucky to see his wedding day.
A neighbour said that family members had spent Friday setting up chairs, tables and decorations for the Merrylands nuptials. That night, when the neighbour heard a loud bang about 10.45pm, "I said maybe it's a balloon." There was no crying or shouting, she said.
Police search for evidence in Merrylands following the shooting. Photo: AAP
A short time later, Mr Ngata was seen walking out of the property and into an ambulance. He remained in a stable condition at Westmead Hospital on Sunday.
Mr Ngata has long been an enforcer and guard for Mr Ibrahim, who has referred to him as his "closest friend", the "head coconut", someone to whom he could not be closer, even if they were brothers.
Details of the wedding were written into the footpath outside John Ibrahim's mother's house where the wedding took place. Photo: Fiona Morris
Living just down the street, the Mr Ngata, 59, was often seen sitting out the front with Mr Ibrahim's mother.
Police had made no arrests and could not provide a description of the gunman but Chief Inspector Bradfield Peters of Holroyd Local Area Command said he had deployed extra officers and "strategies" to guard against possible reprisals.
Investigations have begun to find out if a car found burnt out in nearby Mays Hill may have been linked to the shooting.
