Police are looking for two men after a 58-year-old man, who had received death threats, was gunned down outside his Marsa apartment early yesterday morning.

Father of five Joseph Galea, known as Ġużi il-Ġilda, was shot as he sat on the driver’s seat in his grey Kia Sorrento at about 5am.

An autopsy revealed that he was hit at least five times in his back.

The automatic weapon used is believed to be a .762 calibre assault rifle.

Police Superintendent Silvio Valletta told a crime conference in the afternoon that the window on the driver’s side was shattered. The car was parked outside the entrance to his apartment in Block E, Triq ix-Xemxija, Marsa.

Mr Galea’s lifeless body was found by his wife, who heard a commotion and went downstairs to check on her husband. A neighbour told Times of Malta his wife first thought he felt unwell but she soon realised he was dead.

Mr Valletta would not say how many bullets were fired, noting such information would compromise the investigation.

However, a rough count of the bullet holes on the rear of the Kia Sorrento reveals at least 11 pockmarks.

Deputy Police Commissioner Pierre Calleja, who heads the Criminal Investigation Department, said the police believed two men were involved and that the shots were fired from a car.

The suspects might have used a silver Toyota Rav 4 or a similar vehicle. The police are appealing to the public who might have any information about such a vehicle spotted in the area at about 4.45am to contact them confidentially on 119.

Mr Calleja said the victim had filed police reports that he had received death threats.

When asked whether Mr Galea’s murder could somehow be contracted to the contract killings of Paul Degabriele, known as is-Suldat, Joseph Cutajar, il-Lion, and Josef Grech, known as il-Yo-Yo, Mr Calleja said the police were investigating to see if there was a link.

Mr Galea was the uncle of George Galea who stands charged with the murder of Mario Camilleri, known as l-Imnieħru, and his 21-year-old son, Mario Jr.

The police were also asked whether there could be any link and, again, Mr Calleja said they were taking it into consideration but, so far, they could see none.

He said the police had heard Mr Galea was a money lender but no official reports had ever been filed. He noted that Mr Galea had been found guilty of theft.

Forensic experts who were at the scene of the crime towed away a blue Daewoo Matiz, parked in front of Mr Galea’s Kia, which had also been hit by the bullets.

Investigators examined another car belonging to the victim, a grey Renault Megane with the licence plate “Sur Galea” that was parked on the other side of the road.

The victim’s wife looked out of the window of their apartment several times as forensic officers scoured the crime scene.

At times she beckoned to her children who waited outside and occasionally she would cup her face in her hands in sorrow.

Neighbours said Mr Galea usually went out to run a few errands at that early hour. They described him as a “really nice man who went out of his way to help people”.

As neighbours and relatives gathered outside, Mr Galea’s sister-in-law said he was a great man. “People used to get a bad impression of him because they saw him covered in tattoos and wearing gold but he was the type of man who would feed a dog in the street,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes.

A neighbour said he was a “quiet man” who helped those around him and was respected by all.

He was a “man of respect”, another neighbour said.

A third neighbour said she heard a sound but did not bother looking out.

“Some time ago, a car was set on fire and when the petrol tank exploded it made such a loud noise and I thought the same thing happened again,” she said.