A police officer at Fort Hommet headland last year after the double shooting in which Sarah and Michael Falla died. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 0441800)
ON THE anniversary of the double shooting at Vazon, Michael Falla’s gun club confirmed yesterday that it had tightened procedures in the wake of the tragedy.
Michael, 44, who was president of the Anne Marie Shooting Club, killed his wife Sarah at Fort Hommet by shooting her twice at close range before turning the gun on himself.
He was a gun enthusiast and collected Second World War memorabilia – Sarah’s parents claimed the couple’s home was full of guns and swords and Michael also owned a German soldier’s uniform.
He had been president of the club for almost 20 years and was responsible for the distribution of ammunition.
At the time of the shootings, a spokesman for the club said it was practically impossible to keep track of bullets handed out to members.
But one year on and the range warden at the club said the tragedy had had an impact on its security measures.
‘We have tightened up on it since,’ said Bert Scowen, 77, who is also a former club president of Anne Marie Shooting Club.
‘But let’s face it, anyone shooting can drop a bullet into their pocket.
‘But now I keep a really close eye on it. I watch everyone while they’re shooting just to make sure.’
Mr Scowen said that only five or six people use the range at any time and that was manageable.
‘I’ve been doing this a long time,’ he said.
‘I always make sure that I stand behind them when they are shooting and then I check their weapons afterwards.
‘It’s not that I don’t trust anyone at the club, because they are all very responsible people who know what they are doing. It’s just to make sure.’
All ammunition is kept in a vault at the club, which takes two people to open and Mr Scowen suggested Michael Falla might have got the ammunition he used to shoot his wife from somewhere else.
‘A lot of people bring stuff to the club that was left over from the Occupation and we put it into our vault,’ he said.
‘People knew he was interested in it so people gave a lot of it to him.
‘I think people gave Mike stuff that we did not know about and that was the problem.
‘I’m only guessing but I think that’s how he got it [the ammunition] without us knowing about it.’
The treasurer of another shooting organisation – the Guernsey Pistol Club – said his club had made no changes since the tragedy because it felt security was already incredibly tight.
‘Michael had ammunition at home, which none of our members does,’ said Michael Brehaut, 73.
‘It’s very strictly scrutinised. We have police inspections there as well. These measures were already in place at our club for many years before the tragedy.
‘Security at our club is as high as you could possibly have it and, as far as I’m concerned, you could not get any better.’
Home minister Geoff Mahy said he thought the gun laws passed by the States in 2006 were as rigorous as they could be.
‘The incident shocked us but we feel that the firearms legislation passed by the States is as tight as you could go without banning all gun sports,’ he said.
‘People in gun clubs are well vetted and this person [Michael Falla] was well vetted and respected.
‘He had not done anything prior to this occasion to make anyone feel concerned.
‘It was a terrible tragedy for both the victim and her family.’
Article posted on 24th May, 2008 - 9.30am
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