Children ‘terrified’ as father points pistol at their mother, court hears
A 34-year-old man was charged with threatening his partner with a pistol in the presence of their two young daughters on Monday afternoon.
The incident resulted in the two-year-old girl being “terrified” while her five-year-old sister threw up out of fear when seeing a gun pointed at her mother, the court heard.
The man, from Żurrieq, pleaded not guilty to threatening the victim and causing her to fear him, the illegal possession of the firearm, failing to ensure that his car had the necessary car seat for a child and relapsing.
The magistrate ordered a ban on the name of the accused to protect the identity of the victim and their two young children.
Police inspector Sherona Buhagiar told Magistrate Elaine Rizzo that, on Monday, the victim went to the Żebbuġ police station and the accused turned up there soon after.
The victim said they met earlier that day as she had to pick up her two-yearold daughter in Siġġiewi after he collected the girl from childcare without informing the mother.
While he was in the car, with their twoyear-old, he pointed a pistol at the mother and her daughter nearby. The five-year-old was waiting in the mother’s car and saw the incident.
The victim told the police that the accused threatened that, once they would not get back together, he would kill her.
The father of the accused took the witness stand after lawyer Franco Debono made a request for bail.
He said he was willing to keep his son at home to live with him and keep a watchful eye over him. He was also willing to act as a guarantor for his son, who worked with him.
The prosecution objected to the granting of bail due to the serious nature of the crime. The inspector said that the accused had three firearms registered in his name but they were not kept in the place where they were meant to be kept. The police had found two of the three firearms. The one allegedly used for this case was not found.
The accused told the police he had suicidal thoughts and showed officers photos of himself holding a gun to his own head. There was the fear that he would commit a crime or hurt himself, the inspector said.
Lawyer Jason Azzopardi, representing the victim, said “this is another Bernice Cassar case in the making”.
Last January, the accused promised he would not do it again during a domestic violence sitting when the victim forgave him.
“There was a lot of crying and hugging and promises to change but he kept doing it,” the lawyer said adding that, after this incident, the “two-year-old was terrified and the five-year-old threw up with fear when seeing the accused point a gun at her mother”.
The lawyer said that the accused needed help and treatment.
“Until then, he is a danger to her and her children,” he said.
Magistrate Rizzo turned down the bail request at this stage. She issued a protection order for the victim.