A man pointed a loaded gun at an 8-year-old boy and threatened to shoot him if he did not get off the computer.



Although the boy backed away, Geoffrey John Buckley, 35, still shot the gun at the computer.



The Central Hawke's Bay man faces three charges of recklessly discharging a firearm in front of his partner and her children between February 2007 and August 2008.



Buckley is on trial in the Napier District Court today.



The eight-year-old son of Buckley's partner was misbehaving and ignoring requests to get off the computer, Crown prosecutor Josh Lucas told the court.



Buckley left the room, went into his gun cabinet and returned with a shotgun.



Lucas said Buckley pointed the gun at the boy and told him to get off the computer or he would shoot him.



The boy did as he was told and backed away immediately.



Buckley still shot the gun in front of the boy, his mother and younger brother. The bullet smashed the computer monitor and broke a nearby window.



Buckley said he thought the gun was not loaded.



A bullet narrowly missed his partner's head in a separate incident, when Buckley shot a rifle while the pair were in their bedroom. The bullet flew past her face and lodged into a wall, Lucas said.



Buckley shot the woman in the leg with an airgun in front of the children, on a third occasion. The woman was permanently scarred from the shot. Both times, Buckley thought the gun was not loaded.



The trial continues today.