The compilation of evidence against John Agius began today with prosecutors presenting a detailed reconstruction of the events that unfolded during the armed standoff at St Julian's on 24 July.

Through bodycam footage, drone videos, CCTV recordings and testimony from police officers and emergency doctors, the court was taken step by step through an operation that escalated from an alleged arson attack into a shooting that left one police officer critically injured and another wounded.

The first witness, Inspector Stephen Gulia, outlined the police investigation from the moment officers received reports that a fire had been deliberately started beneath construction workers operating from a crane platform.

Workers told police that Agius had repeatedly threatened them before allegedly setting the fire, while CCTV footage shown in court allegedly captured his brother, George Agius, purchasing the fuel used in the incident.

The court was then shown bodycam footage capturing the officers' attempts to persuade Agius to surrender peacefully.

Officers repeatedly identified themselves, urged him to open the door and warned that they would be forced to enter if he refused. After discovering the main entrance had been barricaded from the inside, police entered through a side gate.

Moments later, according to Gulia, Agius emerged on the roof armed with a shotgun and fired without warning, striking Constable Omar Sharif. A second shot, fired later from a concealed window as SIU officers attempted to rescue trapped colleagues, struck Sergeant Johann Vella despite the protection of a ballistic shield.

Inspector Gulia also testified about the lengthy negotiations that followed. With three officers trapped inside the residence, police repeatedly tried to contact Agius by phone before eventually establishing communication and beginning negotiations.

The trapped officers were safely evacuated at 1:03pm, with Agius surrendering just over 10 minutes later.

The inspector also recounted Agius's police interview, during which the accused admitted setting the fire because he had "had enough" of the neighbouring construction works and acknowledged firing both shots, insisting he did not realise he had struck police officers.

The sitting also heard emotional medical evidence from emergency consultants Dr Michael Spiteri and Dr Jonathan Joslin, who described the desperate efforts to save Sergeant Johann Vella's life.

Both doctors testified that Vella suffered catastrophic injuries to his face and neck and had only minutes to live because his airway was rapidly closing. They explained that he had to be sedated and intubated at the scene before he could safely be transferred to Mater Dei Hospital.

The court also heard that although Constable Omar Sharif was struck by six shotgun pellets, his injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Constable Omar Sharif later took the witness stand, recounting how officers were warned that Agius could be armed before trying to negotiate his surrender. He described the moment officers forced entry through a side gate, only for a colleague to shout "gun" seconds before he was struck in the neck and leg.

Sharif told the court the officers became trapped inside the property until SIU officers eventually entered behind a ballistic shield and, following lengthy negotiations, Agius surrendered with his hands raised. He said he was left with injuries to his neck, hands and right leg.

The afternoon sitting continued with testimony from RIU officers Keith Schembri, Aidan Demicoli and Samuel Muscat, who largely corroborated Sharif's account.

Schembri described seeing the shotgun moments before the first shot narrowly missed Sharif's legs, while Demicoli told the court he fired 12 suppressive rounds after spotting the barrel of Agius's shotgun in an attempt to protect the trapped officers until the SIU took over.

Muscat, the final witness of the day, recalled hearing the first shot and immediately taking cover, describing it as the first time anyone had ever fired a gun at him. "You feel tremendous fear," he told the court.

With Samuel Muscat's testimony concluded, the court adjourned until 12 August at 11am, when the compilation of evidence is scheduled to continue.

The prosecution was led by Inspectors Joseph Mercieca, Christian Xuereb and Stephen Gulia, assisted by Attorney General lawyers Kaylee Bonett and Joseph Camilleri Azarov.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Herman Mula appeared as parte civile for Johann Vella.

Lawyers Anthea Zammit and Paul Camilleri appeared as parte civile for Omar Sharif.