A 40-year-old-woman from Rabat has succumbed to gunshot wounds after she was shot in Mgarr this evening.

The woman, Christine Sammut, shot at 5.30 p.m. as she sat in a parked van at Temi Zammit Street, Mgarr.

She was rushed to hospital and died just over an hour later as doctors struggled to save her.

Informed sources said she was shot twice in the neck. The shots are believed to have been fired from another vehicle, which kept on going.

The police are holding a suspect, who turned himself in. He is said to have been a former boyfriend.

The shooting was the fourth serious criminal case in under three weeks. Businessman Joe Baldacchino was shot and severely wounded in Valletta on November 23.

A bomb exploded at the offices of Transport Malta on December 2, severely injuring a traffic expert.

On the following day three men held up jeweller Michael Mizzi in Attard. During a struggle Mr Mizzi's son managed to grab one of the assailants' weapons and shot one of the men in the leg, seriously injuring him.