SOUTH AFRICA'S Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius has been arrested and charged with murder after allegedly shooting dead his girlfriend, fashion model Reeva Steenkamp. Earlier reports suggested the 26-year-old athlete may have mistaken the 30-year-old for an intruder when she sprang a Valentine's Day surprise on him at his home in a gated-community in Eastern Pretoria. But police have said they are "treating the incident as murder" and are "surprised" by the intruder theory, which did not come from them. Police spokeswoman Denise Beukes confirmed that Pistorius and Steenkamp were the only people in the house at the time of the shooting. She said neighbours had reported "shouting and screaming" coming from the residence earlier in the evening and revealed there had been previous incidents at the address including "allegations of a domestic nature". Pistorius, who is nicknamed the 'Blade Runner' because of the high-tech prosthetics he uses for competitive running, has been arrested and taken to a hospital for a medical examination, Sky News reports. He is expected to appear in a Pretoria court today. Beukes said the double-amputee, who holds 200 and 400 metre world Paralympic records, was being treated like "anyone else". "He will be bringing a bail application and we will be opposing bail," said Beukes, adding that there were no other suspects in the case. The Guardian understands that Steenkamp was shot four times. Earlier in the day, the South African model who had been dating Pistorius since November, tweeted about her hopes for Valentine's Day writing: "What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow???" In one of her last tweets she told a follower who was making a card for her husband: "That sounds amazing! Wow that's what it's all about! It should be a day of love for everyone." In an interview with South African newspaper The Sunday Times, Steenkamp, a law graduate from Port Elizabeth, described Pistorius as "an impeccable man" who always had "her best interests at heart". News of Pistorius's arrest sent shockwaves through the international sporting community, with many atheletes taking to Twitter to express their shock. Britain's Paralympic 100 metre gold medallist, Jonnie Peacock, simply said: "Can not believe it." Source: The Week UK
