Oscar Pistorius accidentally shot a gun in a Johanessburg restaurant in January and tried to get a companion to take the blame for it, police investigator Hilton Botha alleged at the runner's bail hearing today.
Pistorius' lawyer acknowledged that a shot went off, but said there's no evidence that his client pulled the trigger because it went off under the table.
This story first surfaced in the South African paper Beeld on Sunday.
Boxer Kevin Lerena told the paper that he was at the restaurant with Pistorius when he almost shot him in the foot. Saying (as translated by Yahoo! South Africa):
"I got a huge fright, because the bullet hit the ground just centimeters from my foot... but it really was just a freak accident."
He gave further details to Beeld:
"I must emphasise that the gun belonged to one of Pistorius' friends — I'm not going to mention his name. Oscar just wanted to look at the gun, and it sort of snagged on his pants, releasing the safety catch. A shot went off. I wouldn't call him negligent, it was just an accident. He apologised to me for days afterwards."
The restaurant didn't report it to police.
Pistorius appears to be a gun lover. He took a New York Times reporter to the gun range during a story last year, telling him that he once "tiptoed downstairs" with his 9mm when he thought an intruder was in the house.
He also tweeted this about mistaking his washing machine for an intruder and grabbing his gun:
So while all signs say the restaurant shooting was a total freak accident, it's a reflection of just how comfortable he was using guns.
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