The Marsascala shootout that took place last month has claimed a second life, after Stephen Zammit succumbed to his injuries in hospital yesterday evening, the police said.

Mr Zammit, 32, of Fgura, had been grievously injured in the March 15 incident.

Another man, Kevin Gatt, 22, of Għaxaq, died slumped in his car seat at the scene of the crime, the entrance to an underground complex of garages in Guzeppi Lanzon Street.

Since then, Giuseppe Cutajar, 45, of Marsascala, has been charged with the murder of Gatt and of seriously injuring Zammit.

Mr Cutajar had told the police he fired at an oncoming car after someone inside shot at him, according to a court witness.

A police inspector, testifying in the compilation of evidence, said he arrived at the garages to find a dead man in the driving seat of a Hyundai Accent and an injured man crouched on the passenger seat, unable to move. There were several bullet shells on the floor and two bullet holes in a door of the Hyundai.

The accused later told the inspector he came under fire from someone in the Hyundai as he drove into the garage. He got out of his car, managed to evade the reversing Hyundai and fired several shots as it then pinned him against a wall. The gun was later found in a rooftop water tank.