
In this photo taken Friday, Feb. 22, 2013 Olympic athlete, Oscar Pistorius, in court in Pretoria, South Africa, for his bail hearing charged with the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Even if Pistorius is acquitted of murder, firearms and legal experts in South Africa believe that, by his own account, the star violated basic gun-handling regulations by shooting into a closed door without knowing who was behind it, exposing himself to the lesser but still serious charge of culpable homicide. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)
John Beare, vice chairman of the Lowveld Firearm Collectors Association, told The Associated Press that Pistorius also purchased a semi-automatic rifle for his expanding collection at the end of 2012.
That coincided with the early stages of Pistorius' romance with Reeva Steenkamp, the model he shot and killed at his home in the early hours of Feb. 14.
Prosecutors have charged Pistorius with premeditated murder for killing Steenkamp with three of four shots fired from his 9 mm pistol. Pistorius said he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder.







