HALIFAX - Final submissions began Friday in the court martial of a former Canadian soldier charged in the shooting death of a fellow reservist in Afghanistan.
Matthew Wilcox has told the court martial he fired his weapon instinctively when he saw a gun pointed at his head in his tent at Kandahar Airfield on March 6, 2007.
He has also said the only other person inside the tent had to be his best friend, Cpl. Kevin Megeney -- the 25-year-old man he is accused of fatally shooting.
Wilcox, who is facing a second court martial in the case, also denied telling anyone that the two infantrymen from Nova Scotia were playing a game of "quick draw" when his gun went off.
The 26-year-old from Glace Bay has told the military court he knowingly failed to remove a loaded magazine from his 9-mm Browning pistol before entering the tent he shared with Megeney, who was from Stellarton.
The former corporal with the 2nd Battalion, Nova Scotia Highlanders said he left the magazine in the semi-automatic weapon because he was too busy carrying his gear after completing a long shift guarding the camp's main gate.
Wilcox has pleaded not guilty to criminal negligence causing death and negligent performance of a military duty.
