A man who is being tried for attempted murder on Thursday described a scuffle that broke out with the alleged victim and insisted that he managed to grab the victim's shotgun just as the other man made a beeline for it.

Joseph Scicluna is pleading not guilty to having hit and then shot fellow hunter Mark Farrugia in a field near Dingli in 2018.

On Thursday he took the witness stand to give a step-by-step account of the events of that fateful October morning.

He said he woke up at 4:30am, said his prayers, fed his pets and then headed to a farm which was leased to him and his siblings. As he walked down a sloping track to fetch a hoe he usually left in the fields, he spotted his neighbour, Mark Farrugia, in his usual hunting spot.

“Good morning!” he called out to Farrugia, who did not reply. Thinking that the other man might not have heard him or ignored him, Scicluna said he went on his way, fetched the hoe and walked back up, hoe slung over his shoulder, drawing closer to Farrugia. He stopped and told him calmly to avoid shooting low so as not to damage irrigation pipes.

The two men then chatted about a bird which Scicluna had shot and missed a couple of days before.

Farrugia’s father drove up in his van some distance away.

Scicluna said he suddenly caught sight of a bird and drew Farrugia's attention to it, behind an almond tree. Farrugia scoured the area with his shotgun.

“Careful not to shoot low,” Scicluna again warned.

Then he added: “And let me tell you, leave my son alone. He’s got enough problems.”

As soon as he said that Farrugia erupted in an angry outburst, swearing and uttering foul language, Scicluna said.

Farrugia then approached him, gun in hand and grabbed him by the neck.

“I turned cold,” said Scicluna.

He said that as Farrugia's aggressive stance continued, he struck out with the wooden handle [marlogg] of his hoe. Farrugia was momentarily stunned but then assaulted him again.

As the pair scuffled, Scicluna said that Farrugia pushed him and he ended up on his back. Farrugia punched him three times in the face, hitting him on the eyes.

Dazed by the blows, Scicluna said he pushed Farrugia away with his hands and feet. Then as he stood up he suddenly saw Farrugia sprint “with all his might” towards the shotgun that was on the ground.

“I’m done. He's going to shoot me,” Scicluna said he thought in that brief moment, as he was still dazed by the blows.

He said he managed to grab the firearm first and fired a single shot.

“Mark (Farrugia) then ran away shouting out to his father. He made no cries of pain.

Back home, Scicluna said he found his wife in the kitchen. He did not want to upset her since she was going out to work and so when she asked what had happened, he simply told her, “I had an argument with ir-Raħli,” referring to Farrugia’s nickname.

He drove his wife to work and went to buy milk and bread. On his way back,  a police officer phoned and told him to go to Rabat police station. He complied. 

The court had earlier in the trial heard prosecutors say that when questioned by the police, Scicluna had denied being in the area of the shooting that day. He had blamed his cat for scratches and injuries on his face.

On Thursday when asked why he had given a different version, Scicluna said that he was “scared.”

The whole experience was “traumatic” because he never had anything to do with the police and was never arrested, he said.

He only gave the true version when he engaged his lawyer, Arthur Azzopardi, he said.

Under cross-examination Scicluna insisted that had Farrugia not attacked him, the incident would not have happened. "We would have continued to chat about the gallina and I would have gone quietly on my way," he said.

The trial continues.

AG lawyers Kevin Valletta and Kaylie Bonnett are prosecuting. Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri are defence counsel. Lawyer Edward Gatt is appearing parte civile.