A couple were cleaning a hunting rifle at their Limassol home on Tuesday evening when it discharged, shooting the 25-year-old woman in the left leg. Her 26-year-old partner was holding the gun at the time.
“It was an accident — I wish it had hit me instead,” the man said when arrested. In a written statement, he said he had finished maintaining the rifle, loaded two cartridges, and when he closed it, it discharged.
Limassol District Court remanded him in custody for three days on Wednesday morning after police requested his detention. He faces charges of illegal possession of a Category G8 firearm, illegal possession of explosives, and negligent and reckless acts. Although the rifle is registered in his girlfriend’s name, he is not permitted to possess a firearm as he has not completed his military service.
The woman told investigators the incident happened at around 18:00, when the couple decided to maintain the rifle together. She said her partner had no intention of harming her — they have been together for ten years and have no problems in their relationship. After the shooting, she said, he tried to leave the house through a sliding window after the door would not open.
Examinations confirmed the rifle is registered in the woman’s name.
Investigators plan to take statements from the couple’s family and friends. A search of the suspect’s home is scheduled for Wednesday by the Special Crime Investigation Unit.
The woman was taken by ambulance to a private hospital in Limassol before being transferred to a hospital in Nicosia for further treatment.
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