Emilio Morenatti/Associated Press
Oscar Pistorius, the South African Olympic and Paralympic track star, was involved in the fatal shooting of a 30-year-old woman, the police said.
JOHANNESBURG — South African media said on Thursday that Oscar Pistorius, a Paralympic gold medal winner nicknamed Blade Runner, was being questioned after his girlfriend was fatally shot at his home in Pretoria, possibly mistaken for an intruder.
Mr. Pistorius, 26, who races using carbon fiber prosthetic blades, won two gold medals and a silver at last year’s Paralympic Games in London. He was the first double amputee to also run in the Olympics and reached the 400-meter semifinal in 2012 in London.
A police spokeswoman said a woman, who was not identified, had been found dead at Mr. Pistorius’s home, but declined to elaborate.
Reuters quoted Johannesburg’s Talk Radio 702 as saying Mr. Pistorius was understood to have shot his girlfriend in the head and arm, although the circumstances surrounding the incident were unclear. He may have mistaken her for a burglar, the radio report said.
In the Paralympics last September, he won individual gold, when he successfully defended his Paralympic 400-meter title. He had lost his 100- and 200-meter titles, but was part of the gold medal-winning 4 X 100 meter relay team. He came in second in the 200-meter race.
Mr. Pistorius, who was born without fibulas, had both legs amputated below the knee before his first birthday, and he battled for many years to compete against able-bodied athletes. In 2008, he qualified for the Beijing Games but was ruled ineligible by track’s world governing body because his blades were deemed to give him a competitive advantage.
South African journalists said Mr. Pretorius lived in an upscale, high-security complex and said his girlfriend was a well-known fashion model. South Africa has a high crime rate, and elaborate security precautions, as well as personal weapons, are not uncommon.
Woman Found Fatally Shot at Home of Pistorius
This article
Woman Found Fatally Shot at Home of Pistorius
can be opened in url
http://newsdangleberry.blogspot.com/2013/02/woman-found-fatally-shot-at-home-of.html
Woman Found Fatally Shot at Home of Pistorius
