You’ve lost your number plate, shooting victim tells gunman

Seconds before being shot in the back by a motorcyclist, businessman Joe Baldacchino alerted his aggressor to the fact that his bike’s number plate had fallen off, according to a witness.

“The motorcyclist, who was wearing a dark helmet, nodded when the man told him about the number plate... He then drove up behind the businessman, who was talking to someone else, unzipped his jacket, produced a largish silver-coloured gun and shot him in the back,” the witness told The Times.

The 51-year-old victim started screaming in pain, then ran up the road and hid between some cars there. He was chased by the motorcyclist who drove away from the scene soon after, the witness recounted.

Mr Baldacchino was shot in the left side of his back soon after he parked his car in Valletta close to Hastings Garden at about 8.30 a.m., sources said.

In what appears to have been a planned attack, the gunman was waiting for the victim in the parking area on a Piaggio motorcycle that had been reported missing from Marsa a month ago.

Mr Baldacchino, a father of five, was rushed to hospital where he was operated upon. His condition remained critical. He suffered extensive internal bleeding as he was injured in a vital organ, sources said.

Mr Baldacchino is the owner of the five-star Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz in Gozo and the founder of Baldacchino Group, which includes a woodworking business and a string of wedding venues.

The police spoke to three witnesses and questioned several people, including Mr Baldacchino’s businesses associates, in routine procedures to try to get at the motive of the shooting.

One of the witnesses was doing some work near the car park when the incident unfolded before his eyes. He recounted how he had noticed Mr Baldacchino, who was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser, and the motorcyclist arrive at the car park at around the same time.

Mr Baldacchino stepped out of his car and started speaking to an acquaintance. The motorcyclist waited by the side near the parking area’s exit, a few metres away from the victim. As the aggressor manoeuvred his bike to move closer to Mr Baldacchino, the back number plate got stuck in a metal gate and fell. Mr Baldacchino alerted the cyclist about this and, soon after, the aggressor shot him in the back.

“At first, when I saw him produce the gun, I thought he was joking. I never imagined I’d see a man shoot someone in broad daylight,” the witness said.

Mr Baldacchino started shouting in pain and he and the man he was talking to ran up the road to another parking area in front of Giannini Restaurant.

When the police arrived on the scene they found Mr Baldacchino lying on the ground. He was still conscious .

He was covered with a blanket until the ambulance arrived and rushed him to Mater Dei Hospital where he was operated upon.

Magistrate Audrey Demicoli appointed court experts to assist her in an inquiry into the shooting.