Bullet holes in the balcony glass of a Fgura apartment. Photos: Paul Spiteri Lucas

Attempted murder suspect Jonathan Pace, the owner of Tyson Butcher, was shot and killed last night as he stood on the balcony of a first-floor flat in Fgura.

It was just two weeks after he was released on bail in a case where he was being charged with trying to kill a former friend of his.

Multiple shots were fired from the road towards the balcony in a housing estate in Triq Mahatma Ghandi, sources said. The police put the shooting at about 9.20pm.

Mr Pace was hit in the back and in the head. An ambulance took him to hospital where he died shortly afterwards.

Bullet holes could be seen in the glass of the aluminium balcony and the door leading into the flat.

As the news of his death spread, relatives were heard wailing in grief, sources said.

Mr Pace, 31, from Gudja, had been charged with trying kill 52-year-old Vince Muscat, known as il-Koħħu, in Msida last April.

Mr Muscat stands charged with his involvement in a failed heist on HSBC headquarters in 2010 and trying to kill two policemen in a shootout at the scene.

As news spread relatives started wailing in grief

In the Msida shooting he managed to drive to the local police station despite having been shot three times in the head, but has lost an eye and the use of an arm.

Last night’s incident is the latest in a series of murders and attempted murders, spanning about two years, between which police have been trying to establish a possible link.

The attempted murder of Mr Muscat resembled the killing of Joseph Galea, il-Ġilda, who was gunned down on February 4 while in his car in Marsa.

A week later, Peter Cassar, known as Pietru il-Ħaqqu, was shot dead while in his garage in Żejtun.