Oscar Pistorius in Shock Arrest for Accidentally Shooting Girlfriend Dead

South Africans are reeling after the news today that legendary Olympic and Paralympic hero Oscar Pistorius (26) has been arrested after allegedly shooting his girlfriend dead in a tragic accident.

It has been reported that at approximately 4 am today, his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp (30) was shot in the head, chest and arm. Pistorius has been arrested and will appear in court later today.

Ms Steenkamp, a former FHM model, and Pistorius had been dating for just over three months.

She was shot at Pistorius’ home at Silver Lakes Golf Estate outside of Pretoria. The athlete and national hero, known as Blade Runner, apparently mistook her for a burglar in a Valentine’s Day surprise gone horribly wrong.

Just last week Ms Steenkamp revealed to a South African journalist that Pistorius was an “impeccable man” who always had her “best interests at heart”.

A South African journalist Kalay Maistry spoke to Sky News today, saying “I think what this actually highlights is the level of fear ordinary South Africans have. This is a man who has gone to bed, it’s an innocent surprise from a girlfriend…and the moment he thinks someone is trying to break in he grabs his gun.”

In an interview just before the Olympics last year, Pistorius told the Daily Mail that he slept with a pistol next to his bed and kept a machine gun on a window sill.

A 9mm pistol has been recovered from the scene.

The sportsman’s Twitter followers have already started tweeting their condolences…and comments. Most have been supportive: “OMG OMG heard the shooting – it must be hard for u @oscarpistorius I’m here for u” and “I’m so sorry and I feel for you” and shocked – “What a terrible turn of events, this is a sad day for all South Africa”.

The first negative message – “you killed your girlfriend. Wow I’m ashamed of myself for once rooting for you!!!” – was met with immediate condemnation from the rest of the Tweeters, telling the user to “wait for the facts before you say anything, and if you can’t say anything nice then don’t say anything at all.”

One of Ms Steenkamp’s last tweets yesterday had been “What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow???”. And when one person replied that her children were making a card for their dad, Ms Steenkamp wrote: “That sounds amazing! Wow that’s what it’s all about! It should be a day of love for everyone 🙂 may it be blessed!”