Mother and son tell court how neighbour shot at them repeatedly

A mother and son who were allegedly shot by a neighbour they had never spoken to before took the witness stand this morning and described what had happened.

Maria Galea and her son Clint were giving evidence in the trial by jury of Carmelo Camilleri who is pleading not guilty to trying to kill them when he fired a shotgun in their direction in Mosta on August 8, 2009.

Mrs Galea said she did not know Mr Camilleri but used to see him walk his dog, since he lived across the road.

At around 4 p.m. on the day of the shooting she was resting when she heard someone call out to her son Clint.

Clint went out, she heard shouting and went to see what was happening. She saw Mr Camilleri walk away, grumbling.

Her son returned to the house and, soon after, she heard a shot, which she initially thought was a petard because of the feast of Santa Maria in the next few days.

But when she looked out into the road, she saw Mr Camilleri holding a shotgun outside her house.

She said that he fired a second shot as he ran away from the door.

Meanwhile, her husband, a coach driver, called and told her to prepare a shirt as he was on the way home and had to leave immediately on another job.

She realised that her husband would soon arrive home from work and she therefore told her son to warn him about what was happening. Clint went out to tell his dad while she went out to remove some clothes that were drying on a line.

Mrs Galea told the court that Mr Camilleri then fired two shots from the roof and hit her, her son and their dog.

"I was covered in blood that started pouring out of me," she said.

Meanwhile her husband and the ambulance arrived and she was taken to hospital.

She recalled how some time before the incident Mr Camilleri had stopped her in the road and told her that her son had crashed into his car.

"Why did he shoot at me?... Am I to blame if he has an issue with my son? I am innocent," she said.

Testifying, Mr Galea said he was Mr Camilleri's neighbour but had never spoken to him or had an argument with him.

He knew that his brother had accidentally hit his car and was going to pay for the damage.

Mr Galea said that, on the day of the shooting, a friend of his brother, Leon Portelli, went to his house at about 4.30 p.m. to pick up a fishing rod. When he opened the door he saw Mr Camilleri, standing outside his own house across the road, shouting obscene words such as - nifqakom and ingib senter.

Mr Galea said he ignored Mr Camilleri and his friend went home. He went inside and told his mother, who had gone to see what the shouting was about, to go back in.

They stood inside the house and saw Mr Camilleri fire two shots in the air. They called the police.

His mother told him that his father was on the way home from work and had to be warned about the situation.

Mr Galea said he could see that Mr Camilleri had gone inside and went out to catch up with his father. His mother followed him outside.

He then saw Mr Camilleri on the roof fire a shot at their house. Soon after, Mr Camilleri fired another shot and hit him and his mother who had started to bleed profusely.

"He hit her in many places. I saw blood pouring out of her face like water. I went crazy," Mr Galea said.

Mr Galea said that when his father arrived, before the police and ambulance were on the scene, Mr Camilleri fired another shot at him and he pushed him out of the way.

The police and an ambulance the arrived on the scene.

The case continues.