A man admitted to police he fired the shot that hit an 11-year-old girl in the face at Deloraine last year, a jury was told.
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Nathan Richard Campbell pleaded not guilty to grievous bodily harm at the Launceston Supreme Court on Monday.
Crown Prosecutor John Ransom told the jury the issue was not whether Phoenix Newitt suffered grievous bodily harm as a result of the gunshot wound, instead the state’s case would focus on the accused’s recklessness when he fired the gun.
The 11-year-old and her five-year-old cousin were in the car when the accused fired a rifle at the vehicle, hitting the girl in the face on August 29, 2017.
The shot hit the girl’s right ear and temple, with bullet fragments going into her heart and lungs.
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Defence lawyer Evan Hughes told the jury the injuries Phoenix suffered were unintended, unfortunate and unforeseen.
But it was not Mr Campbell’s intention to “hurt Phoenix” and he “carefully considered” how to discharge the firearm, aiming at the bonnet of the car, the court heard.
On the same day as the shooting, Phoenix’s mother Sarah Newitt and the accused’s girlfriend Brearna Mansell got into a fist fight at Deloraine Woolworths, the jury was told.
Ms Mansell left the supermarket, returned to her home in Stagg Court and told her boyfriend about the fight, the court heard.
After the incident, Ms Newitt reported the incident to police and her brother Zachery Newitt, Mr Ransom told the jury.
When Mr Newitt saw his sister’s injuries he “became angry”, drove to what he thought was Ms Mansell’s house and broke a window, the court heard.
Mr Newitt drove back to the supermarket to pick up his sister, her daughter and his son, before returning to Stagg Court, the jury was told.
After Mr Newitt parked the car at entrance to the court, he got out and started verbally abusing Mr Campbell.
His sister also started yelling abuse at the accused, the court heard.
Mr Campbell was “angered by the things said about his family” and shot his .22 caliber rifle in the direction of the car’s bonnet, Mr Ransom told the jury.
The 11-year-old was taken to the Deloraine Hospital, but she was quickly moved to the Launceston General Hospital and then to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Victoria where she had “life-saving surgery” on August 30, 2017.
The trial is before Justice Robert Pearce and will continue on Tuesday.
