‘Lucky you turned’: Jail for man who shot ex while she held baby

Tuesday, 16 June 2026

A Hamilton man who shot his former partner in the head with a pellet gun while she was holding their infant son has been jailed for six years after a Hamilton District Court judge described his behaviour as displaying a 'cruel, callous indifference' that defied belief.

Luke Paul Johnstone, 29, was sentenced on Friday on a raft of charges including wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, injuring with intent to injure, assault with intent to injure, aggravated burglary, possession of an offensive weapon, assault with a weapon, and male assaults female.

The most serious incident occurred during the Easter school holidays last year when Johnstone arrived at the woman's home and knocked on the door.

When she answered, holding their infant son, Johnstone pulled the trigger of a gas-powered handgun.

As she turned to go back inside, she heard a gunshot and felt a burning sensation on the side of her head.

The pellet became lodged in her scalp.

According to the summary of facts, Johnstone later told her: 'You're lucky you turned,' adding that he had been aiming for her eye.

Despite the seriousness of the injury, Johnstone later returned to the house and enlisted the help of a neighbour to try to remove the pellet. He claimed he had only been playing around and had not realised the gun was loaded.

He later told the victim she had 'taken it like a champ' and that they would one day laugh about what had happened.

The shooting formed part of a prolonged pattern of violence and intimidation that began after the couple reunited in late 2024, shortly after separating. At the time, the woman was pregnant with Johnstone's child.

Court documents showed Johnstone repeatedly accused her of infidelity and became increasingly controlling and violent.

On one occasion, he arrived at her home carrying both a machete and the gas-powered handgun. He closed the curtains, forced her to sit in a chair, took her phone and searched it for evidence she was being unfaithful.

Finding nothing did not satisfy him.

While waving the machete, he pointed the handgun at her pregnant stomach and threatened to shoot her.

During another incident, Johnstone struck her with the butt of the gun while searching the house for another man who was not there.

Believing she may have been going into labour, the woman told Johnstone she was in pain. He responded by kicking her legs while she stood against a wall before later headbutting her.

The violence escalated further in the months following the birth of their child.

On one occasion, he threatened to cut off her fingers with garden shears and ordered her to dig her own grave. Soon afterwards he punched and kicked her while she lay on the ground holding the baby.

The following day, he used a baseball bat to smash her phone, television and car.

His repeated accusations and intimidation eventually led her to delete all of her social media accounts.

The next day, Mother's Day, he assaulted her again while she was holding their child.

That night, after initially apologising, he became enraged during a phone call and threatened to slit her throat. The woman fled to a neighbour's house and police were contacted.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the woman said she continued to live in fear and remained traumatised by the abuse.

'This is not surviving. This is living in fear,' she said. 'I feel I will be hunted down.'

Johnstone’s counsel Kaleb Whyte said a methamphetamine addiction, which had begun when he was 18 or 19 years old, was behind his offending.

Judge Kim Saunders imposed a minimum period of imprisonment, meaning Johnstone must serve at least 60% of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

'The cruel, callous indifference and the harm you cause frankly defies belief,' Saunders said.

'You were intent on causing as much emotional and physical harm as you could.'