EXCLUSIVE
Riddled with shotgun pellets, Melbourne underworld figure Mahmoud Karam refused to go down.
The 60-year old’s bloody demise on the streets of Campbellfield last month, in Melbourne’s north, have quickly been turned into legend.
Underworld sources have told Daily Mail Australia Karam was armed and ready when his alleged killers came at him with shotguns.
They allegedly opened fire at Karam on a nature stripabout 10pm on December 20.
Two men were later charged by detectives after turning up at hospital with serious gunshot wounds.
Daily Mail Australia is unable to name the alleged killers due to a court-imposed gag order made to protect them from feared reprisals.
Karam’s attackers were lucky to have made it out alive going by the accounts of underworld sources.
One source told Daily Mail Australia Karam gave as good as he got in his last stand.
Mahmoud Karam, 60, went down ‘all guns blazing’ in his last stand on the mean streets of Melbourne
‘He never went down. He was still standing and talking when police arrived,’ the source said.
Witnesses at the scene told police they believed no less than 15 shots were allegedly fired in the gun battle.
Many of those are understood to have come from Karam himself, who allegedly returned fire in a gun battle reminiscent of a Hollywood movie.
‘This bloke wouldn’t go down. He was like Tony Montana in Scarface or the Kelly Gang,’ a source said.
‘Can you imagine the damage after being blasted with shotguns at close range
‘When the cops got him he was still on his feet talking.’
In the movie Scarface, Montana – played by Al Pacino – dies in a cocaine-fuelled gun battle in his mansion that see him take down scores of opponents.
The Kelly Gang, who shot dead three policeman in 1878, went into Australian folklore two years later when they took on cops dressed in body armour outside the Glenrowan Inn.
Ned Kelly was captured the next morning and later hanged.
For all his adrenaline-pumped stubborn bravado, medics could not keep Karam alive and he finally succumbed to his massive injuries.
Underworld sources say Karam went down like ‘Tony Montana’ from the movie Scarface. Picture: Al Pacino in his final stand as Tony Montana
Ned Kelly became infamous for his last stand in 1880
Ned Kelly’s armour, which he wore during his last stand in Glenrowan in 1880
A 20-year-old Yarraville man and a 22-year-old man from Westmeadows are now accused of the attack.
CCTV from a nearby home captured the shots being fired, with a speeding Porsche captured driving away before a burnt-out car was found dumped on Northbourne Rd about 11pm.
Karam’s dramatic demise came as no surprise to those who knew the respected criminal.
Despite his obvious flaws, Karam was regarded as an honourable crook among fellow rebrobates.
Homicide detectives found what appeared to be a sawn-off shotgun, possibly belonging to Karam, under a car outside the Gentles Ave home where he was alleged ly ambushed about 10.10pm.
CCTV captured this vehicle making a fast escape from the area where Karam was allegedly murdered
Police at the scene are believed to have found Karam still on his feet despite sustaining injuries he could not survive
Two men have been charged over the Campbellfield shooting
Victoria Police’s VIPER Taskforce, which monitors organised crime in Victoria, questioned nearby residents that weekend.
Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Kelly Walker said detectives would remain open-minded about the motives behind Karam’s killing.
‘Homicide Squad will canvas all avenues available to them, extensive CCTV in the area, we’ve got the vehicles and obviously witnesses,’ Ms Walker said then.
‘We want to provide the reassurance that we believe that (it was) targeted and provide the community the reassurance that we are exhausting all investigative avenues.’
