A 40-year-old friendship ended in tragedy yesterday morning when two men, believed to be involved in a homicide-suicide case, were found dead from gunshot wounds by the police in a garage owned by one of them in Qawra.

Sources told this newspaper that the two men, Benny Fenech aged 80, and Carmelo Sant aged 69, had been friends for decades. Both were returned migrants from Australia and used to spend quite a lot of time together.

An eyewitness said he saw Mr Fenech, said to be a Mosta resident, park his car, a Peugeot 207, outside Mr Sant’s residence and wait for half an hour for him to return home. When Mr Sant arrived, he parked his Mitsubishi Pajero in front of his garage and the two went inside.

Some men who were doing maintenance work on a boat nearby said they heard a bang. When Mr Fenech came out of the garage they asked him what the noise was and he replied that a tyre had burst. He then went back inside the garage, only to be brought out hours later on a stretcher and taken away in a police hearse, as was Mr Sant.

The incident is believed to have occurred at around 10.30am.

The victims’ two cars, which coincidentally had the same numbers on their registration plates, were later towed away. Neighbours, most of whom knew both men, are now caring for the Yorkshire terrier and toy poodle that belonged to Mr Sant. They were visibly stunned by the turn of events and could not help but speculate what acrimonious argument could have ended in such a tragedy.

Police officers cordoned off the garage and Police Inspectors Neil Harrison and Chris Pullicino from the Department of Criminal Investigations and District Police Inspector Therese Debattista started the investigations.

Duty Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera appointed several experts, including ballistic expert Maurice Calleja, and forensic experts Dr Anthony Abela Medici and Dr Mario Scerri to help with the inquiry.