A man involved in a freak shooting incident, injuring another hunter on Monday, wept bitterly upon arraignment on Wednesday, claiming that he never meant to shoot at anyone.

When shots rang out at around 7 am in the fields at Triq Anard, Żabbar, a morning hunt for snails turned terribly sour for Simon Camilleri, a 36-year-old public cleansing worker who wept unconsolably in court today. 

His lawyer explained that he had gone with his father to the family field to hunt for snails that morning. 

But the sudden sighting of a turtle dove triggered him into action he later greatly regretted. 

Grabbing his father’s hunting shotgun, he fired.

The pellets hit another hunter who happened to be nearby. 

“He thought that he was alone in the field,” explained his legal aid lawyer Yanika Barbara Sant.

“He acted in a split second without thinking,” she added, as the accused wept, wiping the tears dripping onto the lawyers’ table away with his shirt. 

Camilleri pleaded guilty to attempting to hunt without a valid licence, possession of a Benelli firearm and involuntarily causing the victim slight injuries. 

He was also charged with relapsing. 

Prosecuting Inspector Gabriel Kitcher pointed out that the defendant had cooperated and behaved well, although this was “not an isolated incident.” 

The prosecution would not object to a punishment tending towards the minimum.

The defence argued further that the defendant had never intended to hurt anyone and said he was “very sorry” during interrogation. 

“This was indeed a most unfortunate incident,” said Barbara Sant as her client and his elderly mother wept. 

Appearing in court in a t-shirt splashed with the phrase “Everything is Amazing and Nobody is Happy,” the defendant addressed the magistrate.

“Please Your Honour, don’t be too harsh with me,” he sobbed through his tears. 

“I must follow the law,” replied Magistrate Lara Lanfranco. 

This prompted some commotion from the accused's mother, who said that her son had been hit by seven pellets and that "they had shot at him to kill him". 

After some deliberation, the court handed down punishment, 20 months of effective imprisonment and a fine of €7,000. 

He was also placed under a two-year restraining order not to approach the victim even after serving time. 

“I wish there was some programme for hunting like there is for drug [rehabilitation],” said the accused. 

“Ħa mmorru ġewwa! Goodbye,” he said as he followed his escorting officers out of the room.