Waylon Johnston
Accused 'wanted revenge for post-election punch'
Silvana Callus was hit and fell to the floor losing a lot of blood - witness
The maroon coloured Toyota Hilux belongs to Mr Saliba, with police standing in front of Mr Farrugia's silver Kia Sorento. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi.
The man charged with the attempted murder of 20 people at the Mqabba PN club on December 20 wanted to get his own back after allegedly being punched by the club's president while waiting for the general election results last March, a court heard yesterday.
Testifying on the first day of the compilation of evidence against Carmel Saliba, 31, of Kirkop, club president Michel Farrugia said he had told the accused that nobody from the club had punched him and that he should not make such accusations.
Mr Farrugia told the court that on the day of the Mqabba shooting incident he had organised a meal at the club.
He went to his car to fetch his mobile phone and as he returned, the accused walked past him and into the club bar looking very angry.
Mr Farrugia said Mr Saliba then accused him of having punched him on the day after polling in the general election. An argument broke out between the two and they starting pushing each other, having to be separated by friends.
Before leaving the club, Mr Saliba promised that he would get his own back that night, Mr Farrugia claimed.
Soon afterwards, somebody told him that Mr Saliba had reversed his car into his.
The police were called.
But as they were being informed about what had happened, Mr Saliba returned, driving his van at excessive speed into the middle of the square and stopping not too far from the club.
Mr Farrugia said he then saw Mr Saliba bring out a shotgun from the back of his car and he started running towards the club.
The police went for Mr Saliba and tried to wrestle him to the ground. Shots went off and Mr Farrugia felt lead hit him in a wave across his back.
Breaking down in tears, Mr Farrugia said his sister Silvana Callus had helped John Leonard close the doors of the club. She too was hit and fell to the floor where she lay losing a lot of blood.
"I thought she was dead, seeing her there and my brother holding her head."
He said Mr Saliba then managed to break a side window of the club with the barrel of the shotgun and tried to fire again. "That is when I thought to myself that he was now really going to kill us."
According to police testimony, there was no ammunition left in the shotgun at that point.
Club secretary Paul Spiteri also took the witness stand, saying he recognised Mr Saliba in court because he was very conspicuous on that Sunday while waiting for the election results.
He was wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with a slogan in favour of hunters and was celebrating standing on a wall. Mr Spiteri said that at one point he saw Mr Saliba on the ground but did not know how he got there.
"On the day when he shot at the club, I was standing outside with Mr Farrugia and his brother and Christian Mifsud and when the police got there I complained that they had taken too long to arrive," he recalled.
As they turned to walk into the club and explain what had happened to the police, Mr Saliba sped up in his car, took out a shotgun and the police tried to wrestle him, Mr Spiteri testified.
Mr Spiteri ran behind the church. He said he made eye contact with Mr Saliba and he thought he was about to point the gun at him.
After the shooting he rushed back to the club and started banging on the door to be let in as he had come with a friend who was going to give first aid to any victims.
"I found my wife on the roof of the toilet, very scared, as she had climbed up onto some crates of soft drinks in the panic."
Testifying, Police Inspector Anthony Portelli said Mr Saliba was very aggressive and had tried to resist arrest before being taken to the police headquarters.
Inspector Michael Mallia described the accused as being very uncooperative on that day but as having calmed down the day after so that the police were able to talk to him.
The inspector said Mr Saliba admitted taking the shotgun to the club and shooting at the door but only wanting to scare Mr Farrugia and not kill him.
Defence lawyer Martin Fenech asked the court to ban publication of all details of the case after an interview aired on TVM with one of the victims gave details of what had taken place.
Dr Fenech said this was prejudicial to his clients' case because, if it was to be decided by a jury, the jury would be made up of members of the public who would remember what had been said and would therefore have pre-conceived ideas on whether his client was guilty.
Inspector Mallia disagreed, saying the judge would explain this to the jurors and there would therefore be no worry of that occurring as every precaution was taken.
Presiding Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani said she was not going to hear the case behind closed doors but asked the journalists present to exercise caution in their reporting.
The case continues on February 6.
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14 Comments
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kris borg
Dec 31st 2008, 08:03
A lot is being said about possession of firearms. I believe we should amend the laws so that if any person is found guilty of having used a firearm not for its intended use (i.e. hunting, clay pigeon shooting, target practice etc.), then that person should be banned for life from keeping or carrying a weapon. Such person would have shown that he is not sufficiently responsible to be allowed by society to keep and carry a firearm.
Ronnie Gauci
Dec 31st 2008, 01:01
@ P. Aquilina
This person is neither an MLP nor a PN supporter, he's just one of those hunters who is ready to do everything to harm anyone who threatens his hobby, unluckily we had many such experiences in the last years especially when they used vandalism as weapon. If the MLP instead of the PN had threatened his hobby he would surely had done the same against the MLP club the day after the election (the day which started everything) wearing a PN t-shirt and many of you here would have said nothing.
MARK MIFSUD BONNICI
Dec 31st 2008, 00:43
Carmelo Aqulina
For you information, as you seem to lack any, the person in question was disallowed a gun license. If he hunted he was doing so illegally with an unlicensed gun and without a gun license and insurance cover .
If he is pro hunting his previous conduct was what made the police revoke his license. The police are sensible enough to revoke licenses from those characters that they deem irresponsible.
Indeed we do not need these sort within the hunting community. I am quite sure the police will be presenting a watertight case and hopefully the judiciary will mete out a suitable punishment.
MARIO SALNITRO
Dec 30th 2008, 21:30
DEAR MR CARMELO AQUILINA,
The accused DID NOT EVEN HAVE A HUNTING PERMIT, AGREED HE SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO ROAM THE COUNTRYSIDE.
carmelo aquilina
Dec 30th 2008, 20:32
This man allegedly had a T-shirt with pro-hunting slogans, and he is charged with having an illegal shotgun, and given his behaviour is probably hotheaded and aggressive.
Is this a person we want to be roaming around the countryside respecting the law and other countryside users ? Can you imagine asking him not to shoot a protected species or finding him on your doorstep after having reported him for killing protected species ?
D Vella
Dec 30th 2008, 19:24
For crying out loud . . . why do some people have to politicize everything . . who cares whether the guy was a nationalist or a labourite . . . that is TOTALLY besides the point . . . the point in question being that taking a shotgun and shooting up a club full of people is not acceptable behaviour in any civilised society . . . if the courts do their job properly and the man is guilty of what all the news reports allege, he should be put away for good and all his assets confiscated to compensate the victims!!
Joe Borg
Dec 30th 2008, 14:17
p aqulina
the article says the t-shirt had slogan in favour of hunters. where is your evidence it had anything written on it against the PN?
p aquilina
Dec 30th 2008, 13:34
@Paul Micallef
If celebrating what you thought was a Labour victory, wearing a t-shirt with messages against the PN and then firing on a PN club and supporters makes you a PN supporter then please define what is a Labour supporter?
Can you please give us the evidence and proof that you have that this guy is a PN supporter?
Ronnie Agius
Dec 30th 2008, 13:01
@ Charles Micallef
Do you know that he is a labour supporter?
Yes of coarse normal people do not behave like that and you said that the only reason is that his party lost the last general election so you are implicating that he is a labour supporter and when in a headquater's party finding the munisions what it is? or it is another frame up?.
Personally I show all my solidarity with all those people who were injured in the P.N. Mqabba club
Muscat.Pat
Dec 30th 2008, 11:45
But what was the ideological argument? The less we hear and give importace to these kind of people the better! This cowboy mentality has to stop.Each and every silly argument has the potential to develop into a tragedy, the law on guns must be tightened and restrictive legislation adopted. There are too many fools around.
Sandro Pace
Dec 30th 2008, 11:13
Given that early electoral celebrations will probably be giving such future troubles and problems, I suggest that the silence and carcading/celebrating curfew to be extended from Saturday to about 2 hours after the sorting starts, say up to Sunday 14:00. By law.
This year we have witnessed for the first time celebrations that started when the boxes were not even open. And resulted that they were very premature. At this rate, we will be seeing celebrations starting on Sunday 00:05 am.
Paul Micallef
Dec 30th 2008, 11:13
@Charles Micallef,
Where do you get your info from that this man in question is a PL supporter??
I have it on good basis that he is a P.N supporter,but was not in favour on the goverments stance on Hunting and that a lot of things where promised to him.
Why must we put politics in everything,? he was wrong to do such an act,,,but PLEASE,,,as you people put it, there are only Bullies in the PL????come on,,,,what about the scene we saw at Castilya,,by the Bus drivers that wanted to attack Castle and the swearing that was going on,,do you think that these people where PL supporters????think again.
John Cini
Dec 30th 2008, 10:59
The judge "asked the journalists present to exercise caution in their reporting".
Too late! The political parties, completely ignoring all the sub judice babble that we hear on every other case, already let out extensive and detailed subjective reporting on net news and one tv!
Charles Micallef
Dec 30th 2008, 09:31
Forget politics, normal people do not behave in this manner just because their party lost the election, it is clear to all that this man was after notoriety and publicity to show himself as a hard man, he very nearly achieved it, if it wasn’t for the intervention of two very brave and unarmed Police Officers.
I do hope that their act bravery will not be forgotten!