Officer ‘who shot his wife’ is in care

The policeman who allegedly fired three shots at his estranged wife in Rabat on Wednesday, seriously injuring her, has been transferred to Mount Carmel Hospital where he is receiving intensive psychiatric treatment, police sources said.

Carmelo Cutajar, 47, who was off duty at the time of the shooting, was meant to have been charged with the attempted murder yesterday but his arraignment was postponed when doctors ordered psychiatric treatment.

Police sources said he needed to be monitored around the clock. The fact he turned the gun on himself right after the shooting made him more susceptible to injuring himself, the sources said.

Moreover, the police have not yet managed to conclude their investigations.

Mr Cutajar was released from Mater Dei Hospital where he was treated for a bullet in his chest.

According to investigators who reconstructed the case, Mr Cutajar showed up at Point De Vue guesthouse and restaurant in Rabat at about 1pm, where his 45-year-old estranged wife, Mary, was working.

The couple, who have two children aged 14 and 20, are believed to have had an altercation in the car park before he allegedly shot her in the torso.

She ran into the restaurant where she works and pleaded with colleagues to help her as she did not want to die.

Mr Cutajar took off in his car and turned himself in at the nearest police station, from where he was escorted to hospital.

Four bullets were believed to have been fired in all. Three were directed at the woman while the other was discharged when Mr Cutajar turned the gun on himself.

The gun that was used was not a service weapon but was a “very old” firearm, the sources said. Even the loaded bullets were old and this could be one of the reasons why he was not seriously injured when he shot himself – the bullet did not penetrate his chest completely.

Meanwhile, Ms Cutajar’s condition is said to have improved and she is on the road to recovery.

Magistrate Miriam Hayman is holding an inquiry and police investigations are still under way.