Oscar Pistorious Instagram gun pictures discovered

By RAY PHILP
Published on 14/02/2013 14:51

PICTURES of Oscar Pistorious and the girlfriend he is alleged to have shot and killed holding firearms - taken only weeks apart - have emerged as the South African sprinter was taken into police custody today.

• Pictures of Oscar Pistorious and Reeva Steenkamp wielding firearms uncovered

• Images were taken on Instagram accounts within weeks of each other, and prior to their relationship

One picture, found on the Paralympian’s Instagram account, shows him seated at a gun range as he aims a rifle.

A photo of Reeva Steenkamp, who was shot four times in Pistorious’ home, shows the model wielding a pistol. The image was discovered on her Instagram account.

The two images were taken just weeks apart - Pistorious’ photo was taken on 12 July last year, while Miss Steenkamp’s was dated 1 July - and predate their two-month relationship.

A comment left by the model, who was 30, underneath the photo read: “Shooting Games this morning! I feel less stressed now.”

Pistorious, 26, was arrested by police earlier today on suspicion of murder after Miss Steenkamp’s body was found at the athlete’s gated housing complex in Pretoria.

A 9mm pistol was recovered from the scene after a call had been made at 3am alerting authorities to a shooting at the double-amputee’s home.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of gun homicides in the world per 100,000 people, second only to Colombia in 1998. Private gun ownership in Africa’s most southerly nation is estimated at 5,950,000.

In 2009, 16,834 people died of gun-related murders, while 156 people died as a result of unintentional gun-related incidents.