Jonathan Pace, the owner of Tyson Butcher, was killed in a drive-by shooting, involving a banned military weapon, in a murder echoing another one in Marsa last February, the police said yesterday.

Mr Pace, 31, was standing in the balcony of a Fgura apartment, in Mahatma Gandhi Street, when he was shot “at least five times” on Thursday at about 9.20pm.

He was mainly hit in the chest and lower body by the shooter who drove past in what police believed was an SUV, Deputy Police Commissioner Pierre Calleja said.

“This was a drive-by shooting and we already had a similar one that dates back to February 4. The MO (modus operandi) is very similar to what happened then in terms of method used, and type of vehicle and weapon used,” Mr Calleja told crime conference at the police headquarters.

He referred to the murder of 58-year-old Joe Galea, known as Il-Ġilda, who was shot 17 times outside his Marsa home.

People on the streets immediately said someone was shot and it must have been him

Mr Calleja and police inspector Chris Pullicino said police were not excluding that more than one person could be involved in the plotted attack that had an “element of professionalism”.

Between 15 and 20 bullets were fired by the weapon Mr Calleja called compatible with “an assault rifle that has rapid fire capability”.

Forensic tests would determine whether the same gun was used in both murders.

Mr Calleja said the police spoke to various people over the case. He did not reply when asked if one of those questioned was Vince Muscat, Il-Koħħu – the man Mr Pace had been charged with trying to kill.

Mr Calleja said police were exploring all possibilities and were probing Mr Pace’s past, included the debts he accumulated due to his butcher business.

Mr Pace, a father of three originally from Gudja, had been living with someone else in the Fgura apartment since he was released on bail on August 8.

He had spent three months in preventive custody for the attempted murder of Mr Muscat who was shot three times in the head in Msida on April 8.

The Attorney General had filed an appeal from that decision granting Mr Pace bail but, on Wednesday, Mr Justice Michael Mallia threw out that request and ordered that his bail deposit be increased from €1,000 to €3,000 and the personal guarantee increased from €4,000 to €5,000.

A resident of the Fgura housing estate, where the shooting occurred, said he remembered Mr Pace moving in after being granted bail.

The man said that on Thursday he was dosing off to sleep when he was woken up by what he initially thought were fireworks.

However, when he heard people shouting he realised something was wrong and ran outside where various neighbours started gathering.

“People on the streets immediately said someone was shot and it must have been him (Mr Pace),” he said.

Several other residents said they heard multiple “machine-gun-like” shots.

One woman said her balcony door was open and was about to have dinner with her family when she heard the loud shooting and then, soon after, she heard someone screaming for help.

She immediately realised someone had been shot but was too scared to go outside.

Public shootings

Over the past two years, Malta witnessed a series of shootings that took place in residential areas.

Some of the cases are linked and have been described as “tit-for-tat killings” by gang members embarking on turf wars. But other cases still seem unconnected.

March 15, 2012

Stephen Zammit and Kevin Gatt, both 32, end up dead after being shot by 45-year-old Joseph Cutajar, known as Il-Lion, in a shootout at a garage complex in a residential part of Marsascala. Mr Cutajar claimed he was ambushed and acted in self defence. The word is out that Il-Lion has fallen out with Paul Degabriele, known as is-Suldat, with whom he worked previously.

October 2, 2012

Mr Degabriele, 48, from Fgura, asks police to inspect his car after he sees two hooded men act suspiciously next to it through his CCTV system outside his property. A homemade bomb, packed with a kilo of explosives, is pulled out from below his pick-up truck. The suspicion is that Il-Lion commissioned 68-year-old Pietru Cassar, Il-Ħaqqa, to plant a bomb on Is-Suldat.

December 12, 2012

Il-Lion is shot dead early in the morning by an assailant who waits for him close to his Mosta home with an AK-47 rifle. A few hours later, 41-year-old Josef Grech, known as Il-Yo-Yo, is found dead with a single shot to the head at Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq. He was due to face trial for his alleged involvement in the murder of Patricia Attard on February 14, 2004 – she was found shot dead in her van in Ta’ Qali.

February 18, 2013

Ronald Galea, 65, from Birkirkara, is shot outside Continental Meat Company – the Ħal Far meat factory he owned – as he is closing shop at about 4.45pm. Mr Galea died from gunshot wounds, including to the heart and lungs, after being shot at close range. Police held a Maltese man in his 30s in connection with the murder. The man worked in a field similar to that of the victim.

May 31, 2013

Is-Suldat is shot dead in broad daylight by two men who are waiting for him outside a bar in Marsa.

February 4, 2014

Joe Galea, 58, known as Il-Ġilda, is shot 17 times outside his Marsa home in a drive-by shooting with a weapon believed to be a submachine gun.

February 12, 2014

Pietru Cassar, 67, Il-Ħaqqa, is shot dead in a Żejtun garage searched by police during murder investigations into the killing of Is-Suldat.

April 8, 2014

Vince Muscat, 52, also known as Il-Koħħu, is shot three times in the head after he arrives home in Msida at around

11.30pm. He survives and drives to the police station for help. Jonathan Pace, owner of Tyson Butcher, was facing charges over the attempted murder. Mr Muscat himself is charged with his involvement in a failed heist on the HSBC headquarters in 2010.

August 21, 2014

Mr Pace, 31, is shot dead while in the balcony of his Fgura home.