A 63-year-old man yesterday played down a shooting incident, arguing that he only meant to show a neighbour how a gun worked when it accidentally went off.

Antonio Sultana said that Abdulaziz Abdikadir Hasan, who lives in the flat above him, had shared a meal before they went to Mr Hasan’s apartment when the incident happened on Wednesday evening.

Mr Sultana, who is accused of attempting to kill Mr Hasan, insisted that he never meant to harm his neighbour and certainly not try to kill him, as media reports had suggested.

Police Inspector Kevin Pulis said that the court had been given only half the story. He said that in his statement to the police, Mr Sultana said: “I don’t trust black people.”

He said that a first shot was fired followed by another as Mr Hasan ran out of his own apartment. Had this really been an accident, the police would not have charged Mr Sultana with attempted murder.

Magistrate Carol Peralta told Mr Sultana that after speaking to his lawyers he understood that his wife was terminally ill in hospital and that granting bail would be very difficult, especially when faced with such serious charges.

The magistrate remanded Mr Sultana in custody and sent a recommendation to the prisons director to allow him to visit his wife in hospital everyday for an hour accompanied by a prison warder