Oscar concedes gun negligence
Murder-accused paralympian Oscar Pistorius conceded under cross-examination in the High Court in Pretoria on Thursday that he was negligent with the magazines of his guns.
State prosecutor Gerrie Nel gestures while paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius is testifying during his trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Thursday, 10 April 2014. Picture: Marco Longari/AFP/Pool
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel asked Pistorius: “Sometimes you’re negligent as far as your other magazines are concerned?”
Pistorius answered: “That is correct, My Lady.”
Pistorius told the court that when he was at his house in Pretoria he kept a magazine in his bedside table.
“When I was not at home, I locked the magazine in a safe,” he said.
“Surely there are a couple of occasions that I forgot to lock it up.”
Nel asked him if it was his understanding of the law that if he left the house he was allowed to keep the magazine in the bedside table. Pistorius said, no.
When asked why he kept the magazine in the bedside table, Pistorius answered: “For my safety My Lady.”
Nel responded: “At least you agree with me that is illegal [to not lock your magazine in a safe].”
Pistorius is accused of deliberately killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. She was shot through the locked toilet door of his Pretoria home on February 14 last year.
He said he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder.
Pistorius has pleaded not guilty and in his plea statement denied he had argued with her shortly before the shooting.
He is also charged with illegal possession of ammunition and two counts of discharging a firearm in public.
The athlete has denied guilt on these charges.
– Sapa
For more news your way
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
