An autopsy that was carried out yesterday established that the 29-year-old Zurrieq man who was found dead in a field in an area known as Tal-Hlantun, limits of Zurrieq, on Sunday, had suffered a head injury caused by one shot from a firearm.

The exact circumstances of the case are however still to be established by the magisterial inquiry.

The man died from shotgun wounds and in a statement issued on Sunday, the police said the weapon which fired the lethal shots was found in the vicinity.

The man was found dead about eight hours after a car chase in Blue Grotto Avenue in Zurrieq in which about five shots were fired at about 4.30am on Sunday. The police immediately worked on the theory that the death and the chase were related.

A 19-year-old from Zurrieq was driving one of the cars, an Isuzu Gemini, and was hit by two of the shots fired in his direction. He was hit in one of his eyes and his shoulder, but his injuries were not life-threatening. It is feared, however, that he could be in danger of losing his eyesight.

It is believed that a 17-year-old passenger was the youth’s girlfriend and she also happens to be the dead man’s cousin. She was not injured in the incident.

The reason behind the chase is unclear, but seemed to stem from a collision between the Isuzu Gemini and the dead man’s BMW. It is also suspected that the two men knew each other and had spent the night in the company of common friends.

The police had been searching all day for the man they believed had fired the shots earlier. However, the investigation took a sharp twist at about 1.30pm when they received reports of the dead body.

The investigation, led by the Criminal Investigation Department, continues. Duty Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera appointed a number of experts to assist her with an onsite inquiry.