An Irish man who was shot dead by police in Malta is reported to have pointed a replica gun to his head and told them: “Are you ready? Because I am.”
Edward William Johnston (50) from Dublin fatally stabbed Nicolette Ghirxi (48) in an apartment in Birkirkara, a city in the east of Malta’s main island, on Sunday.
The pair had been in a relationship, which had broken down. According to Maltese police, Mr Johnston had been harassing Ms Ghirxi over social media in recent months following the end of their relationship.
According to a report in the Times of Malta, Maltese police opened fire on Johnston, believing he was going to turn his gun on them.
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The newspaper said the entire interaction between Johnston and the police was caught on body camera footage, which is now part of the investigation into the case that rocked the country this week.
It later turned out Johnston had been carrying a replica Beretta pistol.
“In that moment, in pitch black darkness, police couldn’t have possibly known that his gun couldn’t shoot and considering that they had just been informed he had really killed a woman that night, they had every reason to interpret those words as a direct threat on their life,” a police source told the newspaper.
The source also revealed that before he stabbed his ex-girlfriend, Johnston demanded a drink at the Hilton Hotel in St Julian’s.
When he was told the bar was closed, he pulled out a gun which later turned out to be a replica, telling the bartender: “Get me a beer or I’ll shoot you.”
Johnston had a string of previous convictions. He had previously tried to get police to shoot him in an incident in Glasgow in 2012 which led to a jail term of 28 months.
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