Invercargill shooting: Man lucky to be alive after dispute believed to be over a woman

Joel Maikara Amohanga. Photo / Otago Daily Times

It was good luck a man survived being shot in the stomach after a dispute between two men over a girl, a jury heard.

Joel Maikara Amohanga, 30, appeared in the High Court at Invercargill yesterday on the first day of his trial where he faces four charges including attempted murder, threatening to kill, assault and unlawful possession of a firearm at Invercargill.

The charges relate to an incident at a Brown St house, in Strathern, on November 9, 2019 when Amohanga allegedly shot the victim in the stomach.

Crown prosecutor Mary-Jane Thomas, in her opening address, said Amohanga went to the address with the intention to kill the victim.

"The Crown case is that he went there to shoot and to kill — and indeed [he] did shoot but did not kill [the victim]", she said.

The Crown believed the incident was "over a girl", she said. There was jealousy, the woman was friendly with both men and as a result an altercation resulted in the attempt to kill the victim, she said.

Thomas said the Crown suspected the victim was alive due to "pure good luck" as he was "side on" when the gun was fired.

She said the jury would hear from 25 witnesses but the victim and the woman would not give evidence.

The victim's mother, who was at the address during the incident, would give evidence.

She would tell the jury how she had to step between Amohanga and her son to avoid a second shot, Thomas said.

"When he pulled the trigger he intended to kill him."

The case was not about whether the man was shot — it was about who shot him and if he had intended to do so, she said.

The trial was expected to take about two weeks before Justice Cameron Mander.