Accused in bush bash shooting testifies claiming he feared for his life

Testifying in his own defence, Carlos Guerra Guerra said he showed up to the bush party for young people in a field off of Pack Road in southwest London in July of 2021 after his friend Emily Altmann called him for help.

"She (Altmann) had an urgent tone to her voice, frantic...she asked me to please come," said Guerra Guerra.

The court has heard that there had been a dispute over a spilled or thrown drink at the bash.

He said, "I just wanted to make sure she was okay - to get her out of whatever predicament. I thought I might get into a fist fight situation."

The accused told the jury that he is an aspiring hip hop or rap artist and that he had a real handgun in his side bag that night because he had intended to shoot a music promotion with the firearm using it as a prop, but that all changed after the Altmann call.

Guerra Guerra said when he arrived at the scene, Altmann was out on the roadway but that she wanted to go back into the field.

“There was a reason she wanted to go back, at the end of the day I still don’t remember why,” he said.

While accompanying her, he said, "I saw a person, I engaged in an argument back and forth. It was escalating. It all happened so fast."

The 23 year old said, "They tackled me to the ground, I knew I was in a bad predicament at that point."

He said when he walked in, he never saw anyone else with weapons until one appeared during the fight, "He was right above me...standing over me with a machete in his hand."

He added, "I was terrified. It's a fear you can't really describe."

He went on to say, "I remember grabbing the gun and pointing it upwards and I looked away and I closed my eyes and when I pulled the trigger and the gun fired that's when I looked back."

“I kind of see him stagger back and fold over,” he recalled.

The victim in this case, 18-year-old Josue Silva, would end up dying from a gunshot wound to the stomach.

London police would eventually arrest and charge Guerra Guerra with second-degree murder and assault with a weapon. He has pleaded not guilty.

The court has heard that Altmann and her defence team were excused from the case and the judge told the jury not to speculate as to the reason why.

While on the stand testifying, Guerra Guerra appeared calm as he recalled his involvement on the night of the shooting.

Later in the day when questioned about the threatening tone of text messages he sent his friends following the shooting, Guerra Guerra said, "I wanted to scare people out of talking to police. I didn't want to get into trouble for this."

When asked by his lawyer Ricardo Golec about how he feels now about the whole incident, he replied that it should have never happened, "I'm disgusted by my actions, I'm ashamed, if I could take it all back I really would, everything.”

Guerra Guerra resumes with his testimony on Thursday.