South African police have arrested "Blade Runner" Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius and are planning to charge him with the murder of his girlfriend after she was shot and killed at his home on Thursday morning.
According to USA Today, the incident details are still unclear, but officials said they would oppose bail after the Paralympic gold medalist appears in court Friday. A hearing was scheduled for Thursday but was put off until Friday to allow for more investigation.
According to the Associated Press, police in the country do not name suspects in crimes until they have appeared in court, but police spokesperson Brigadier Denise Beukes said "there is no other suspect involved,"
Britain's Sky News first named the woman as Reeva Steenkamp, who is a model and the runner's girlfriend. A talent agent for Steenkamp said she was the victim of the crime, but the police have not yet confirmed.
According to reports the girlfriend was trying to surprise Pistorius for Valentine's Day and he mistook her as an intruder. Crime is a big issue in South Africa and the rate is one of the highest in the world, which is one reason why the runner may have thought it was an intruder and not his girlfriend.
"We have also taken cognizance of the media reports during the morning of an alleged break in or that the young lady was mistaken to be a burglar," Beukes said. "Obviously our forensic investigation is still ongoing and we're not sure where this report came from. ... Our detectives have been on the scene, our forensic investigators have been on the scene and the investigation is ongoing."
Police said that in the past there has been "previous incidents" of a domestic nature reported at Pistorius' home. Pistorius was the first double amputee to take part in the Olympics and he is nicknamed "Blade Runner".
He won gold medals s in the 4 x 100 meter relay and 400 meter individual events at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London and he has overcome being born without the fibula in each of his legs,
Henke Pistorius, his father, told South Africa's SABC radio news on Thursday that he didn't know the facts. "If anyone makes a statement, it will have to be Oscar. He's sad at the moment."
