A man standing trial in an alleged retribution shooting has told the court he was in shock when he threw a gun from the Batman Bridge, after fleeing the scene.
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Co-accused Jacob Adam Williams, 28, and Marcus John Williams, 33, both gave evidence in Launceston Supreme Court on Friday, over the alleged shooting of Kurt Jenkins, 27.
Both men, who are not related, have pleaded not guilty to committing an unlawful act intended to cause bodily harm and aggravated armed robbery.
Jacob told the court he wanted to have the people responsible for a violent attack on his partner and son "put behind bars, so we could feel safe again".
Two days before the January 11 shooting, two masked men broke into Jacob's home at Kay Street, Kings Meadows.
A woman and her two-year-old child were at the house and had petrol poured on them by the two unknown robbers, who threatened to set them on fire.
Jacob told the court he took steps to find out who was responsible for the attack, arranging with Marcus to meet with Mr Jenkins in the car park of McDonald's South Launceston.
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The court had previously been told Jacob held a gun to the back of Mr Jenkins' head and forced him to drive to a Pinkard Street address so he could be identified in relation to the earlier home invasion.
But Jacob told the court neither he or Marcus were armed, and instead the three men sat in the car, talked and smoked ice together.
When asked by defence lawyer Evan Hughes why the three men decided to leave the McDonald's car park, Jacob told the court they were going to get more ice from a house on Pinkard Street.
Jacob said he became suspicious when he saw weapons and a balaclava on the back seat of Mr Jenkins' cars, telling the court he messaged his partner to meet them at Pinkard Street, so she could meet him face to face and "find out for sure".
Jacob told the court Mr Jenkins became enraged after the woman appeared at the car to identify him, telling Jacob "no it's not him".
The two men got into a verbal altercation and Mr Jenkins attempted to drive away.
Jacob told the court it was Mr Jenkins who produced a gun, so he tried to twist it out if his hands.
"I lunged at it ... I put both my hands on it and pushed it down," Jacob said. "That's when it went off".
Crown prosecutor John Ransom suggested it was Jacob who pulled the gun on Mr Jenkins, asking why - if he had done nothing wrong - did he flee the scene, taking the gun with him.
Jacob told the court he was in shock.
Also giving evidence, co-accused Marcus Williams told the court neither he or Jacob were armed when they arranged to meet with Mr Jenkins.
He said he was a mutual friend of both men and was "trying to put Jacob's mind at ease" that Mr Jenkins was not responsible for the attack on his partner and son.
Marcus told the court both he and Mr Jenkins smoked and injected ice before Jacob joined them in the car at the McDonald's car park, before driving to Pinkard Street to get more drugs.
After the woman approached the car to identify Mr Jenkins, Marcus told the court he heard Mr Jenkins say to Jacob "why the f*** did you bring her here for".
Sitting in the passenger seat, Marcus told the court he saw Mr Jenkins produce a gun, at which point he got out of the car.
He said he was a metre or two away from the car when he heard a gun shot, but told the court he just "kept walking".
When asked by Mr Ransom why he didn't stop to help his friends, he said he was in a complete state of shock and panic.
"I didn't know what to do," he told the court. "For all I knew, one of my good friends was dead."
The trial before Justice Robert Pearce will resume on Monday.