NYTimes story.
This should be interesting.
Was he wearing the blades when he pulled the trigger? Hobbling around on his nubs? Lying in bed?
Questions that need answers wrote:
Was he wearing the blades when he pulled the trigger? Hobbling around on his nubs? Lying in bed?
Kind of crass the way you put that...
He has stated in interviews that he, of course, wears normal prosthetics when not running.
Anyone who knows much about South Africa knows, what the NYT article states to be true:
"South Africa has a high crime rate. and elaborate security precautions, as well as personal weapons, are not uncommon."
This thread will devolve into a pro/anti gun control debate that has virtually no chance of changing anyone's mind in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...
More details here
http://news.sky.com/story/1051959/oscar-pistorius-held-for-shooting-girlfriend
If accurate, this is just really really horrible ... try to surprise your boyfriend for Valentine's Day and end up shot to death by mistake.
I live in a fairly violent city in the US, murder rates not exorbitantly lower than those in South Africa. I've been mugged twice and had my place broken into once. I think about getting a gun all the time. At the same time, accidents like this seem so frequent it makes one think.
Oscar apparently not a big fan of the pop in visit.
Many years ago my GF had the key to my place, and one day getting home late from work I come in to find her on the coach. Scared the crap out of me, as I had zero idea she planned to come over.
Holy sh!t, have you seen prison in SA? Custody there is no joke.
This is just sad.
But, if theres somene in your house why on earth are you shooting before you even try to see who it is? Did he carry inside the house and draw on reflex? Or did he get the gun, waited and shot on movement?
Sounds crazy.
Police spokesman Katlego Mogale said a “26-year-old man had been taken into custody for shooting a 30-year-old woman”.
Whilst there is some protection in SA for this alleged eventuality, the 'shooter' must feel that their life is being threatened. It may well be the case that, legally, he doesn't have a leg to stand on.
Oh god his career as a track runner is over. Think about whenever he has to hear the pistol shot before the start of the run...
From what I've heard he lives in an upmarket estate in South Africa known as Silver Lakes. These estates are almost impenetrable and security is very tight (they're safe havens for the rich who fear - justifiably - for their safety in the regular suburbs)...
with that knowledge, for him to be so jumpy at the sight of an intruder just doesn't all add up. It could just be an instinctive thing that comes with living in SA...
but still. As much as I'd like his side of the story to be the (still sad) truth at the end of the day, I don't think we should jump to conclusions just yet.
Whoa, back up a minute. You came home and found your girlfriend on the coach ??? You're taking that pretty well, I have to say. Probably not as well as the coach did, mind.
Yes, ignoring the gun control arguments for the moment, I think the fact that he lived in a high security gated complex with electrified walls, a guarded entrance and regular patrols, is going to go against him.
In that environment, he should have been able to assume that anyone within the complex to be safe, until identified as dangerous.
I have a very hard time believing that this was any kind of accident.
Confirmed that he's just been charged with murder.
"The precise circumstances surrounding the incident are unclear. Some reports said that Mr Pistorius may have mistaken his girlfriend for an intruder.
But police said they were "surprised" to hear allegations that the deceased had been mistaken for a burglar.
They added that there had been previous incidents at the address and described them as "allegations of a domestic nature". Police also said that they had been interviewing witnesses."
Pistorius is claiming he's innocent and that he saw a one-armed man fleeing the scene.