South African Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius has been arrested by South African police after his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, was shot dead at his home in Pretoria, according to local media reports.
Pretoria police have confirmed that a 30-year-old woman was shot and killed this morning at the home of Pistorius in the Silver Lakes area of Pretoria and that a 26-year-old man, alleged to be the athlete, has been arrested. Radio reports speculate that the woman, suspected to be Steenkamp, was shot in the head and arm.
“I can confirm that a woman has been fatally wounded in a shooting at Oscar Pistorius' house," a police spokeswoman said. "A 26-year-old man has been taken into custody. The incident happened at 3am. We received a call and attended the scene. The call did not come from the man in custody but from another person. Currently there is an inquiry into what happened."
Violent crime is common in South Africa which has some of the world’s highest crime rate and home-owners often keep guns for self-defence.
Pistorius made history at London 2012 when he became the first double amputee to run at both the Olympics and Paralympics. He is known as Blade Runner because of the carbon fibre prosthetic blades he wears when he runs. The athlete was born without a fibula in both legs and had them amputated at 11 months old.
Pistorius won a legal battle against the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in 2008 for the right to run in able-bodied competitions, like the Olympics.