South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius is in hot water this morning, and details are sad. ESPN is reporting that the double amputee Olympic sprinter is in police custody this morning after shooting and killing his girlfriend.
Details are sketchy at this time, but Reeva Steenkamp, who was a model and spokeswoman for abused and battered women, was shot four times inside his gated community home.
Reeva Steenkamp, a model who spoke out on Twitter against rape and abuse of women, was shot four times in the predawn hours in the house, in a gated community in the capital, Pretoria, police said.
Hours later after undergoing police questioning, Pistorius left a police station accompanied by officers. He looked down as photographers snapped pictures, the hood on his gray workout jacket pulled up, covering most of his face. His court hearing was originally scheduled for Thursday afternoon but has been postponed until Friday to give forensic investigators time to carry out their work, said Medupe Simasiku, a spokesman for the prosecution.
According to reports, there was a history of incidents and “allegations of a domestic nature” at the home of the Olympic star and double-amputee runner, who is one of South Africa’s most famous athletes, and made history at the London Games last year by being the first double-amputee runner to compete at the Olympics.. Police in South Africa do not name suspects in crimes until they appear in court, but they did release this statement.
“Yes, there are witnesses and there have also been interviews this morning,” Beukes told reporters outside the gated complex where Pistorius lived. “We are talking about neighbors and people that heard things that happened earlier in the evening and when the shooting took place.”
Police say that the earlier reports that suggest Pistorius mistakenly shot Steenkamp because he thought she was a burglar did not come from them.