Oscar Pistorius Arrested After Murder of Girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp On Valentine's Day, Blade Runner Was Featured In Nike Bullet and Weapon Ads (VIDEO)

Feb 14, 2013 11:03 AM EST
Oscar Pistorius and his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
The murder of Reeva Steenkamp by Olympian Oscar Pistorius has shaken South Africa and more news that comes out about the incident each day, including on Tuesday when it was revealed that the model met with her ex-boyfriend two days before the murder. Shocking news came out of South Africa on Valentine's Day, as Olympian Oscar Pistorius was charged with the murder of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp after an early morning incident. Oscar Pistorius and his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp pose for a picture in Johannesburg, February 7, 2013. South African "Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius, a double amputee who became one of the biggest names in world athletics, was charged on February 14, with shooting dead his girlfriend at his home in Pretoria. Picture taken February 7."

Shocking news came out of South Africa on Valentine's Day, as Olympian Oscar Pistorius was charged with the murder of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp after an early morning incident.

According to the Associated Press, Steenkamp was shot four times before dawn after she tried to come surprise Pistorius at his home for Valentine 's Day, but apparently he thought she was a burglar. The report says that Steenkamp previously spoke out on Twitter against rape and abuse of women.

Her publicist Sarit Tomlinson confirmed the model's death and said she knew very few details about the incident.

"At the moment we can confirm that Reeva passed away," she said. "We are all in shock. We are devastated. We didn't see this coming. No one saw this coming."

Pistorius faced hours of police questioning and was taken into custody buy officers as photographers caught pictures of him with his hood over his head. He was originally scheduled to be in court on Thursday but instead will appear on Friday.

The news was shocking but it also highlights issues faced by South Africans in the city, where there is a high crime rate, although police spokeswoman Brigadier Denise Beukes said there have been past incidents with the running and included "allegations of a domestic nature."

"I'm not going to elaborate on it but there have been incidents (at Pistorius' home)," Beukes said. Police in South Africa do not name suspects in crimes until they have appeared in court but Beukes said that the 26-year-old Pistorius was at his home at the time of the death of Steenkamp and "there is no other suspect involved."

Pistorius is known to own firearms and he previously posted on twitter about having them and going to a shooting range.

"Had a 96% headshot over 300m from 50shots! Bam!" he tweeted.

Pistorius was featured in ad campaigns by Nike that used gun imagery and words, including one that read "I am a bullet in the chamber." CLICK HERE for a picture of the ad that has since been taken down by the runner's website. He was also featured in a New York Times Magazine article in which he was described as taking out a pictol to search his home when an alarm went off as well as when he and the journalist went to a nearby target range

Pistorius told the writer: "If you practiced, I think you could be pretty deadly."

Asked how often he went target shooting, Pistorius replied: "Just sometimes when I can't sleep."

Pistorius was also featured in Nike's 2008 "This is my weapon" campaign in which athletes referred to their bodies as weapons. A very unfortunate coincidence for both Pistorius and Nike.

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