‘I did not fire at Reeva’ – Oscar

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel was questioning Pistorius about whether he had “pointed” or “aimed” his gun, whether he was thinking or not before he shot, and why he fired through the closed door of his toilet, killing Steenkamp on February 14 last year.

Pistorius has been charged with murdering her.

Nel spent several minutes conducting a blow-by-blow examination of how Pistorius crept into his bathroom on his stumps and held his gun.

Just before Pistorius broke down, Nel confronted him with the fact that his defence had changed from “putative self-defence” to “I don’t know why”, when asked why he pulled the trigger of his 9mm pistol and fired through his closed toilet door four times, killing Steenkamp.

Pistorius: “I thought the person was coming out to attack me. I wasn’t thinking.”

Nel: “Did you fire at the perceived attacker?”

Pistorius: “I fired at the door. I heard the noise and I fired out of fear.”

Nel told Pistorius he could not claim two defences, shooting out of fear and shooting by mistake.

Nel pressed on: “You shot at Reeva.”

Pistorius wailed: “It’s not true.”

Nel: “Why are you getting emotional now?”

Court was adjourned for Pistorius to compose himself.

The State alleges that Pistorius murdered Steenkamp when he shot her though a locked a toilet in his Pretoria house.

He says he mistook her for her an intruder.

Pistorius is also charged with three contraventions of the Firearms Control Act, one of illegal possession of ammunition and two of discharging a firearm in public.

He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.

On September 30, 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.

He has also denied guilt on these charges.

– Sapa