News Americas, PRETORIA, South Africa, Fri. Feb. 15, 2013: Fans clashed with critics on Oscar Pistorius’s Facebook page last night, just hours after the blade runner who earned worldwide fame in the London Olympics, was arrested and taken to a jail in Pretoria for murdering his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp.
A bail hearing is scheduled for this morning, Friday, Feb. 15th even as South Africa police said they planned to oppose bail in the case.
But while the star has only been charged, several took to his FB page to criticize the Olympian, calling him every name from a “bastard” to a “murderer.”
“I hope you die with 8 bullet holes from the SAPS!,” one man named Adrian Hernandez wrote. But while the criticism was harsh as news that the 26, -year-old who ran on carbon-fiber blades may have been shot Steenkamp after having a domestic issue, fans also were quick to insist no one should judge Pistorius.
“Oscar I have read some really NASTY comments on the current situation and I want to tell you this: I do NOT join in the condemnation and utter vile stuff that I have read. I am WILLING to allow you the basic privilege of being innocent until PROVEN guilty and ALL the FACTS have been presented,” wrote C.T. Steel.
Their comments come as early reports that Pistorius, a gun enthusiast, had accidentally shot his girlfriend, thinking she was an intruder, gave way to grim police news conferences announcing previous law enforcement complaints about domestic episodes at his home and the murder charge.
Pistorius won two gold medals and a silver at last September’s Paralympic Games in London. In the 2012 Olympics the month before, he reached the 400-meter semifinal and competed in the 4×400-meter relay.
In the Paralympics, Mr. Pistorius won individual gold, successfully defending his 400-meter title. He had lost his 100- and 200-meter titles, but was part of the gold medal-winning 4×100-meter relay team. He came in second in the 200-meter race.
