Sydney is a city under fire January 25 ... police at the scene of a shooting in Lisgar St, Granville / Pic: Bill Hearne Source: The Daily Telegraph A GUN crime initiative unveiled by senior police yesterday has actually been running for the past fortnight - during which time six shootings, including a murder, have taken place on the streets. The Daily Telegraph can reveal that Operation Apollo, launched yesterday by Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione, went live on January 24 in the lead-up to Australia Day. In that time, there have been six confirmed instances of gunfire, which include a murder at Blackett last Saturday and another shooting hours earlier involving a 21-year-old man at Bidwill. In another shooting, which was not made public by police, a man presented at Auburn Hospital on February 1 after being shot in the leg. Police are continuing to investigate that incident. A police source yesterday said a seventh shooting, which was not made public, also took place, but further details could not be confirmed. It is understood the announcement of the Apollo taskforce was postponed until this week to allow Mr Scipione to return from his holiday. Since January 24, the Apollo team has been running "prototype operations." Unlike previous taskforces, which have been set up to reduce gun crime and lock up the perpetrators, the Apollo initiative will be integrated into the State Crime Command.It will be led by the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad and, unlike its previous incarnation Operation Spartan, it will have a dedicated ballistics team. Any weapons seized by Apollo for ballistic or forensic testing would be immediately fast-tracked to the front of the queue, a senior police source said. This was echoed in a previous operation, known as Strike Force Kinnarra, where a 9mm semi-automatic pistol seized from a car driven by a former Nomad-turned-Rebels member was tested within hours of being found on June 30 last year. The man denied owning the weapon but was arrested just two days later when forensics found his fingerprints on the gun. That matter remains before the courts. Individual detectives on the taskforce were renowned for their close rapport with the Middle Eastern community. Mr Scipione said he regarded gun crime as the "number one problem" in the state, and this solution was the best under the current circumstances. "The model that's been put before me is one that I would have to accept ... as being the most appropriate strategy at this time," Mr Scipione said. He also reported seeing a breaking down of the traditional "wall of silence" which has often greeted investigators trying to solve crime in western Sydney, and credited community leaders with assisting with that development. "Their co-operation is what we need," he said.