A policeman fired three shots at his estranged wife in broad daylight yesterday, metres away from a petrol station and a takeaway in Rabat, leaving her critically injured.

I assumed they were shooting a film and thought to myself: she’s really playing her part well

Carmelo Cutajar, 47, who was off duty at the time, showed up at Point De Vue guesthouse and restaurant, where his 45-year-old wife, Mary, was working at about 1pm and had an altercation with her in the car park before shooting her in the torso.

He then took off in his car and turned himself in at the closest police station, from where he was escorted to hospital and also treated as he had a bullet wound in his chest.

Four bullets were believed to have been fired in all – three directed at the woman, the other possibly being discharged when Mr Cutajar turned the gun on himself, sources said.

The gun that was used by Mr Cutajar, who is stationed at the Żebbuġ police station, was not a service weapon.

The couple, who have two children aged 14 and 20, had a turbulent relationship, according to the sources.

A pensioner who witnessed the scene unfold from his balcony saw the woman running up the hill and screaming at the top of her voice as her husband fired three shots in her direction, close to the petrol station. The woman took cover by running into the back entrance of Point de Vue.

“I assumed they were shooting a film and thought to myself: she’s really playing her part well,” said Alfred Balzan, one of three witnesses who the police questioned. The other witnesses included a young boy and an elderly woman.

Mr Balzan, who did not realise that anyone got hit, said the shots were fired by a very small revolver that looked to him like a toy gun.

The police found a drop of blood in the road but the sources said there was much more blood in the backroom of Point de Vue, where the woman hid.

Magistrate Miriam Hayman is conducting an inquiry.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.