Blade Runner” Pistorius charged with murdering girlfriend

South African Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius, known as the “Blade Runner” for his racing prosthetics, was charged on Thursday with murdering his girlfriend at his home in Pretoria.

Police said they had opened a murder case after a 30-year-old woman was found shot dead at the scene in the upmarket Silverlakes gated community on the outskirts of the capital.
Police spokeswoman Katlego Mogale said a 9 mm pistol had been found at the scene and a 26-year-old man was taken into custody. In South Africa police do not identify suspects until they are charged in court.
“There are witnesses and they have been interviewed this morning. We are talking about neighbors and people that heard things earlier in the evening and when the shooting took place,” police brigadier Denise Beukes told reporters outside the residential complex in Pretoria.
“At this stage he is on his way to a district surgeon for medical examination and will be appearing at the Pretoria Magistrate Court at 2 pm this afternoon.”

Johannesburg’s Talk Radio 702 said Pistorius was believed to have shot his girlfriend, a model, in the head and arm, although the circumstances were unclear. The radio had said before the murder charge that he might have mistaken her for a burglar.
Reeva Steenkamp was reported to have been dating Pistorius for a year. In the social pages of last weekend’s Sunday Independent she described him as having “impeccable” taste.
“His gifts are always thoughtful,” she was quoted as saying.
Some of her last Twitter postings indicated she was looking forward to celebrating Valentine’s Day on Thursday with him.
“What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow???” she posted.
“We are all devastated. Her family is in shock,” Steenkamp’s agent, Sarita Tomlinson, told Reuters, in tears over the incident, which happened in the early hours of the morning.
“They did have a good relationship,” she said. “Nobody actually knows what happened.”