A woman has described being showered with shotgun pellets fired by hunters as she went to visit the Ħaġar Qim megalithic temple complex last week.

The German national, who has lived in Malta for the last three years, said she narrowly avoided being hit as she got out of her car in the parking area near the visitors’ centre.

“This was really scary… I just could hear the bullets [pellets] close to me,” said the woman, who asked not to be named.

Police confirmed they are investigating her report.

She spoke up after Times of Malta reported how two women claimed to have been shot “deliberately” by a hunter last week while walking along the Ta’ Ċenċ cliffs in Gozo.

Joanna White, a 62-year-old British national who has been living in Gozo for six years, recounted how the hunter – whom she photographed from afar – fired shots at her and her friend. She was hit by a pellet in the leg and her friend was struck in the arm.

The injuries were minor, but the women were shocked by the experience.

Malta is in the middle of the autumn hunting season that runs from September 1 to January 31.

Reacting to White’s story, the German woman described her experience. 

“At 10am I was going to visit Ħaġar Qim, the temple site. On the parking space, getting out of my car, I was nearly shot,” she said.

“There were hunters all around the building. And one of them was shooting in my direction. Luckily, nothing happened, he didn’t hit me,” she said, adding that she was unable to see the hunter.

The parking site is about 150m away from the Haġar Qim temple site and about 600m away from the Mnajdra temple. 

White’s story inspired others to share similar experiences.

Commenting on her personal Facebook page, one woman wrote: “A few years ago, I was at Mġarr ix-Xini. Two young kids were throwing bread to a duck on the water near the beach. A hunter shot the duck in front of the kids which meant he was shooting

towards the beach and the two young kids who could have been hit. He sent his dog in to collect the duck, the kids were screaming... the parents thought the kids had been hurt, and we watched as he hid his kill.”

Another wrote: “Something similar happened to myself and my son a few years ago at Wied il-Għasri.”