Eyewitness recounts how man was shot twice in the stomach

An eyewitness saw a man, charged with attempted murder, point a revolver at a man's stomach and fire twice during an argument between them, a court heard yesterday.

Joseph Portelli, 47, of Zebbug, Gozo stands charged with the attempted murder of 24-year old Franky Cini, also of Zebbug, and seriously injuring Mr Cini on July 25.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera heard Joseph Caruana describe how on the day of the accident he had been working in his garage in Skappucina Street, Zebbug. He went outside when he heard a commotion and saw Mr Portelli and Mr Cini fighting.

The witness explained that from a distance of about 40 feet, he could see the accused cocking a revolver and after pointing the firearm at the victim's belly, he heard two shots. He confirmed that when the two shots were fired, Mr Cini was lying on top of Mr Portelli. Prior to the gunshots, both had blood smears.

Asked whether Mr Cini had anything in his hands, he replied in the negative.

The witness also confirmed what he had testified before the inquiring magistrate in the sense that he had seen Mr Portelli point the firearm twice at the head of the victim. The victim had pushed the firearm away from his head. It was later that the accused pointed the gun at the victim's belly and shot twice.

PC Mario Cassar testified that when he spoke to the victim's mother, she told him how she had seen her son on the ground struggling with the accused. She heard the accused say "I will shoot you" and after he had fired at her son, she had managed to grab the revolver from his hands and take it to her daughter's residence.

Josef Cefai, the victim's nephew, explained how on the day of the incident he had been at his grandmother's house when they received a telephone call to summon an ambulance because his uncle (Mr Cini) had been hurt.

He went on the scene where he saw a lot of people and a lot of blood on the ground. The witness recounted how, on his arrival, the accused pointed a firearm at his head but he managed to run away. He had heard Mr Cini say "I am going to die".

Dorianne Cefai, another relative of the victim, testified how she had seen the accused hitting her grandmother and lifting her from the ground by pulling her hair. When she tried to protect her grandmother, the accused started pulling her hair instead.

Later she saw the accused coming out of his garage with a shotgun and pointed it at her head. When her brother arrived, the accused also pointed the same shotgun at him.

The witness told the court she had been present when the ambulance arrived and how the accused had climbed into the ambulance and asked the driver to drive away. However, she had informed the ambulance people not to drive off because it was her uncle Mr Cini who was seriously injured.

The case continues.