A Canberra man who fired a gun three times towards another man at a shopping centre in Canberra's north has been found not guilty of attempted murder.
Connor Manns, 25, was instead found guilty of attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm by an ACT Supreme Court jury.
The court had heard that Manns had been feuding with the victim via text and Snapchat in the hours prior to the shooting.
The victim told the court he had organised an early morning fist-fight with Manns at a shopping complex in Casey in November 2021.
But the victim was forced to hide behind a tree when he heard shots fired in his direction from a nearby car.
The jury saw CCTV footage of the area around the time of the shooting, in which two of the shots could be heard.
Defence lawyer James Maher did not dispute Manns had fired the shots, but rather said he was just trying to scare the victim.
Earlier in the trial, Mr Maher told the court Manns "might not be an angel, but he is not a killer".
He argued that if Manns had wanted to kill the victim, he wouldn't have fired the gun from a moving vehicle in the dark.
Prosecutor Marcus Dyason said the fact Manns fired three shots, instead of one warning shot, was proof he had an intent to kill the victim.
Mr Dyason told the court about a photo sent to the victim and his partner prior to the shooting, showing Manns holding a semi-automatic rifle and pistol.
"I'll do life for this, IDGAF [I don't give a f***]," read the text accompanying the photo, according to Mr Dyason.
Following the incident, Manns wrote a text message to a friend that said, "I tried to kill him last night… x3 in the head".
Mr Maher put the messages down to a "false bravado" and said Manns had a history of saying things he didn't mean.
"He has a clear track record of being duplicitous and talking shit," Mr Maher told the court.
Manns pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to make threats to cause fear and harm, but not guilty to attempted murder and the lesser charge of attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm.
He will return to court to be sentenced.
