Oscar Pistorius Faces New Gun Charges

Oscar Pistorius was served with new indictment papers yesterday containing two extra charges believed to allege that he recklessly shot his gun out the open sunroof of a car last year and fired someone else's handgun at a restaurant weeks before he killed his girlfriend.

The double-amputee Olympian has already been indicted on a main charge of murder for the Feb 14 shooting of Steenkamp and another firearm charge for illegal possession of ammunition in his home. 

He now faces the two additional charges relating to firing guns in public. 

It is likely Pistorius will face all four charges at his trial, due to start in March, although his lawyers can argue against the new charges being added to his current indictment as the offences are alleged to have taken place in Johannesburg — a different court jurisdiction to Pistorius’s shooting of Steenkamp at his villa in the capital, Pretoria. 

Pistorius’ lawyers were served with the new papers, said South Africa’s national prosecution spokesman, Nathi Mncube. 

“What happened today is Mr Pistorius was served with a new indictment.” Mncube said. “We have to advise him [of the extra charges] to accord him with enough time to prepare his defence.”