Hi °C | Lo °C OLYMPIC and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, who stands accused of murdering his girlfriend in a Valentine's Day shooting, was involved in a freak gun accident just weeks before Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead, it emerged today.
According to reports, Pistorius, who is nicknamed ‘blade runner’, was dining in a busy restaurant when the gun accidentally went off, nearly hitting a friend's foot.
The incident allegedly happened last month during a dinner with friends and Pistorius’s 29-year-old model girlfriend.
The paralympic star was reportedly examining the gun, which belonged to a friend, when it snagged on his trousers and went off, narrowly missing a friend’s foot.
Boxer Kevin Lerena, who was part of the dining party, told South Africa’s Beeld newspaper: “I got a huge fright, because the bullet hit the ground just centimetres from my foot. I must emphasise that the gun belonged to one of Pistorius’s friends.
“Oscar just wanted to look at the gun, and it sort of snagged on his pants, releasing the safety catch. A shot went off. I wouldn’t call him negligent, it was just an accident. He apologised to me for days afterwards.”
The latest revelations came as it emerged that South African police are investigating whether the murder of Reeva Steenkamp could be connected to the use of performance-boosting steroids.
