Child witnessed father point gun at ex-girlfriend in domestic violence row

A court has denied bail to a man accused of pointing a gun at his ex-girlfriend, in the presence of their two young daughters, in a case which the victim’s lawyer described as “another Bernice Cassar in the making.”

The 34-year-old man from Żurrieq was arraigned in court under arrest on Wednesday, charged with intimidating and threatening the mother of his child, as well as with carrying a firearm during the commission of an offence and exceeding the limits of provocation when insulting the woman.

Further charges, relating to possession of a firearm without the required licence, transporting an infant in a motor vehicle that was not equipped to do so safely and being a recidivist, were also issued in relation to Monday’s alleged incident in Zebbug.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges. Bail was requested by his defence lawyer.

Footage of the incident is understood to have been captured by a nearby residential CCTV system.

Prosecuting police inspector Sherona Buhagiar told magistrate Elaine Mercieca Rizzo that the victim had gone to the Żebbug police station on Monday, followed a short while later by the defendant.

The victim told the police that they had met earlier on Monday when the mother picked up her two-year-old daughter in Siġġiewi, after the defendant had collected the girl from childcare, without telling the mother about it.

When the mother approached the defendant, who had been sitting in the car with their two-year-old, the man pointed a handgun at her and her daughter, while her five-year-old sibling watched from inside the mother’s car, said the inspector.

The woman reported the defendant as having said that he would kill her because their relationship was not salvageable.

The court was told that the five-year-old was so frightened by the incident that she threw up, her two-year-old sister also being described as “terrified.”

Inspector Buhagiar asked the court to issue a protection order in favour of the woman pending the conclusion of the criminal proceedings and, should he be found guilty to disqualify him from holding a firearms licence, as well as confiscating all firearms he may own or that he is in the process of purchasing or selling.

The court ordered a ban on the publication of the name of the accused to protect the identity of the victim and their two children aged two and five.

Defence lawyer Franco Debono requested bail, bringing the defendant’s father to the stand to confirm his willingness to allow his son to live with him at home and to keep an eye on him. The man said that he was also willing to act as a guarantor for his son, whom he also employed.

The prosecution objected to the bail request, stressing the serious nature of the crime and the fact that the defendant had three firearms registered to his name, which were not being stored correctly. The court was also informed that only two of the three firearms were found, with the handgun allegedly used to threaten the woman being missing.

During interrogation, the accused had told the police that he was contemplating self-harm and showed them photos of himself holding a gun to his head. This led the prosecution to fear that he would either commit further offences or harm himself, the inspector explained.

Parte civile lawyer Jason Azzopardi, who is assisting the victim, told the court that “this is another Bernice Cassar case in the making,” explaining that after a sitting in another domestic violence case involving the man, last January, he had promised to control himself in future, after which the victim had forgiven him and the charges dropped.

“There was a lot of crying and hugging and promises to change, but he kept doing it,” the lawyer told the court, arguing that the man accused was in need of treatment. “Until then he remains a danger to her and her children,” Azzopardi said.

After issuing a protection order for the victim, the court dismissed the bail request at this stage.