A MAN was shot dead in front of his girlfriend as he got into his car after visiting relatives in Sydney's west.

As Sydney's escalating gun-crisis reignited, the second fatal shooting in two days of another victim "well known to police", occurred in a Dunmore St unit block carpark in Pendle Hill just after 12am on Thursday.

The 27-year-old man was shot five times in the back as he walked to his white Subaru Impreza parked in the driveway of 257 Dunmore St.

media_camera The white Suburu the man was about to get into when he was shot five times in the back in Pendle Hill. Picture: Bill Hearne

The gunman, wearing a black hooded jumper, was last seen walking towards Goodall St.

Paramedics, assisted by a police officer, performed CPR on the man in the ambulance until they arrived at Westmead Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

A nearby resident named James, who didn't wish to give his surname, said he heard a hail of gunfire.

"I heard I think it was eight gunshots and then a guy screaming," he said.

A woman, who didn't want to be identified, said distraught family members stood in the driveway afterwards.

"There was a woman, probably his mum, screaming hysterically," she said.

"Another man was talking to police with his head in his hands, he looked very upset."

media_camera Detectives talk with memebers of the fornsic team at the scene where a man was shot dead in Pendle Hioo. Picture: Bill Hearne

Holyroyd Police Inspector Adam Phillips confirmed the man was visiting relatives and was leaving when he was shot.

He said the shooting wasn't linked to the slaying of Brothers For Life gang member Mahmoud Hamzy in Revesby Heights on Tuesday.

"At the time of the shooting he and his girlfriend were together," he said.

"There is a strong line of inquiry we are following at the moment and it's not related to any of the reprisal shootings or anything like that. He is well known to police and known to police of this LAC (Holroyd)."

When asked if it was a crime of passion Insp Phillips said he couldn't comment but police had an "avenue" they were pursuing.

"Obviously it was a targeted attack and the intention was to kill him. The police did CPR but by the time he hit Westmead he was gone. It was obviously planned, the general community shouldn't be concerned for their safety. It wasn't an indiscriminate shooting."

media_camera Police forensics on the scene at Dunmore St, Pendle Hill, where a man was killed after being shot several times in the back. Picture: Bill Hearne

Insp Phillips said it was a vicious murder.

"The brutality of it occurring in front of a young lady. We are trying to establish if there are any other witnesses," he said.

Many nearby residents said they didn't hear anything but Insp Phillips said police did respond to reports of shots being fired.

The Subaru with its driver's side door open was examined inside and out with a ballistics dog also scouring the area surrounding the car.

The car was later towed away as police cordoned off Dunmore St from the corner of Goodall St to Pendle Way.

The unit block where the man was shot is directly across the road from a nursing home, Ashwood Residential Care Services, with many confused staff having to make a detour to avoid the large crime scene this morning.

Several residents, still in their dressing gowns, were questioned by police in the unit block driveway.

media_camera The crime scene where a 27-year-old man was shot in the back while getting into a car at Dunmore St, Pendle Hill. Picture: Bill Hearne

The area is home to a large sub-continental community and many were oblivious to the latest outbreak of gun violence on their doorstep.

Hiren lives in the apartment block next door to where the man was shot dead at the three-storey unit complex.

He said he didn't hear any gunfire but was concerned someone was killed so close to his home.

"When I saw the police I was shocked. I should be worried," he said.

"It (the neighbourhood) is pretty safe, it seems unlikely someone would be shot dead."

Priya and husband Suri live less than 500ms away and she was also worried.

"We never heard of anything like this happening in this area," she said.

"We are surprised. We walk around everyday so obviously it is not safe at this point of time."

She said the police should do more to curb gun violence.

"They should because we walk around and get the train and bus and it should be safe," she said.

media_camera A police sniffer dog scours the area after a man was shot dead in the driveway of a unit block in Dunmore St, Pendle Hill. Picture: Bill Hearne

An elderly man who lives nearby on Girraween Rd walked past the crime scene on his morning walk.

"We're concerned because a lot of things are happening. I've been living around Pendle Hill for years but there hasn't been anything like this. What can you say? You're shocked," he said.

The execution comes after Hamzy, the 25-year-old Brothers for Life gang member, was shot dead by three gunmen in a Bardo Circuit garage of a house in Revesby Heights. Another man, Omar Ajaj, 24, was also wounded.

Strike Force Roxana was formed to investigate the incident with Deputy Police Commissioner Nick Kaldas saying public place shootings were down.

"While last night's attack is very concerning, I do want to highlight that public place shooting incidents in Sydney have decreased over the past two months," Mr Kaldas said.

"Since Operation Talon commenced in August ... shootings into properties has reduced by more than fifty per cent."

Police would like anyone with information about the gunman in the latest shooting to contact them.