The court heard that Sergeant Johann Vella was critically shot while trying to rescue a fellow officer who had already been wounded by John Agius during the intense shootout that shocked Malta on 24th July.Two police officers were shot after a property dispute escalated dramatically. What began with a construction fire beneath two workers on a crane ended in an exchange of gunfire between Agius and police.Officer Omar Sharif followed Constable Kurt Schembri into a property after Agius was seen running inside. From their position on the crane, the construction workers watched Agius searching for something, leading officers to suspect he was looking for a weapon, particularly as he held a firearms licence.Those suspicions were confirmed when the officers entered the property and saw Agius armed with a gun. As Sharif jumped over a rubble wall to reach Schembri, Agius fired without warning, striking Sharif and causing him to fall to the ground.Police returned fire to stop Agius from firing again and without intention to hit him.With two officers trapped inside the property, police first tried to negotiate by calling Agius, but his mobile phone was switched off. They then used a patrol car’s public address system to urge him to surrender while officers from the Special Intervention Unit (SIU) were deployed.When repeated attempts to contact Agius failed, the SIU moved in to rescue the trapped officers. As the team entered, Agius fired a second shot. Sergeant Johann Vella, who was following the lead officer carrying a ballistic shield, was struck in the face after the bullet hit the shield.Officers immediately pulled Vella to safety. The court heard that Agius had fired through a hole in a tarpaulin while crouching behind a kitchen counter.After further attempts to communicate with him, police finally made contact with Agius at 12.25pm. He was arrested shortly after 1pm.Agius pleaded not guilty to the charges, including the attempted murder of two police officers, causing grievous injuries, arson, endangering construction workers, resisting arrest, illegally discharging a firearm and unlawfully detaining police officers during the operation.•