Accused insists shooting was accidental

A man being tried for attempted murder yesterday told jurors he just wanted to show a gun to a friend with a view to find a buyer when it went off accidentally, hitting his friend in the face.

Terence William Zammit, 29, of St Paul's Bay, who is facing charges of trying to kill Mario Farrugia of Hamrun on October 19, 2000, took the witness stand and explained that he had gone to meet Farrugia to invite him to invest money in a development at St Paul's Bay.

Zammit said he had taken with him a pistol he had found at Wardija as he was trying to find a buyer for it. He was hoping to get some Lm400 for it.

He explained that as Farrugia was closing the garage door, he got the pistol that was hidden in his jeans and as Farrugia saw it he grabbed it by its silencer and tried to take hold of it. The accused said that as he was trying to pull the weapon away from the victim he must have accidentally pulled the trigger, hitting Farrugia.

Zammit said he had absolutely no intention of shooting the victim as he was a friend of his. The two were wrestling each other after the shot was fired as he believed Farrugia was trying to take hold of the pistol to shoot him in self defence and he wanted to prevent that from happening.

The accused said that after the shooting, he was very excited and confused. Two men had separated them from each other and when he heard the victim tell the person holding him that he should let him go near him as he was his friend, he calmed down as he realised Farrugia did not want to harm him.

The accused said he had never had any problems with Farrugia, from whom he often borrowed money and always paid him back, even exceeding the sum borrowed. Being in business, he too was owed considerable sums of money, one of which amounted to Lm28,500.

Zammit said he had found the pistol at Wardija and used to hide it under a large stone in an undeveloped plot at Xemxija. He was not at all familiar with firearms and did not know how to handle it properly and his only intention was to sell it. He had in fact used the same method, hiding it in his jeans, to show it to someone else before he had shown it to Farrugia and the reaction he had got was the same one of surprise.

The case continues.

Senior Counsel to the Republic Mark Said prosecuted.

Manwel Mallia and Giannella Caruana Curran are appearing for Zammit.