The family of Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee Olympian charged with murdering his girlfriend, is feuding publicly over whether guns are a necessary protection against crime in South Africa.
British newspapers quoted Pistorius’ father, Henke Pistorius, as saying the family owns handguns for self-defense and suggesting that South Africa’s government shares blame for ‘white crime levels’ in the country where police register more than 15,000 murders per year. In a statement on Tuesday quoting the runner’s uncle, Arnold Pistorius, the family subsequently distanced itself from the father’s comments.
The statement said the family ‘is deeply concerned about the comments’ and that they don’t ‘represent the views of Oscar or the rest of the Pistorius family.’
The track star shot Reeva Steenkamp on 14 February with his 9 mm pistol. Prosecutors charged Pistorius with premeditated murder, saying the shooting followed an argument between the two. Pistorius said he mistook Steenkamp for a home intruder, fired shots at the door of his toilet and then discovered that she was inside. His uncle, who has acted as the family spokesman following Steenkamp's killing, said in the statement that ‘the Pistorius family own weapons purely for sport and hunting purposes,’ contradicting Oscar Pistorius' testimony to the magistrate who freed him on bail.
British newspapers quoted Pistorius’ father, Henke Pistorius, as saying the family owns handguns for self-defense and suggesting that South Africa’s government shares blame for ‘white crime levels’ in the country where police register more than 15,000 murders per year. In a statement on Tuesday quoting the runner’s uncle, Arnold Pistorius, the family subsequently distanced itself from the father’s comments.
The statement said the family ‘is deeply concerned about the comments’ and that they don’t ‘represent the views of Oscar or the rest of the Pistorius family.’
The track star shot Reeva Steenkamp on 14 February with his 9 mm pistol. Prosecutors charged Pistorius with premeditated murder, saying the shooting followed an argument between the two. Pistorius said he mistook Steenkamp for a home intruder, fired shots at the door of his toilet and then discovered that she was inside. His uncle, who has acted as the family spokesman following Steenkamp's killing, said in the statement that ‘the Pistorius family own weapons purely for sport and hunting purposes,’ contradicting Oscar Pistorius' testimony to the magistrate who freed him on bail.