Criminal Justice

Oscar Pistorius tells about fatal shooting and 'the moment that everything changed'

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Oscar Pistorius. Featureflash
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Oscar Pistorius sobbed on Tuesday as he told jurors how he fired the fatal shots on Valentine’s Day 2013 that killed his girlfriend.

The double-amputee track star was so emotional during his testimony that a judge ended the day’s proceedings early, report the Washington Post’s Morning Mix, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), ABC News and CNN.

Pistorius said he heard a window open in the bathroom and thought a burglar was entering his home. “That is the moment that everything changed,” he testified.

Pistorius testified that he yelled out for his girlfriend, Reeva Steencamp, to call police. He said he heard a noise coming from behind the bathroom door and thought the intruder was coming out. “Before I knew it I fired four shots at the door,” he said.

When Pistorius returned to his bedroom and couldn’t find Steenkamp, he thought for the first time that his girlfriend may have been the person in the bathroom, he testified.

“I was panicking at this point. I didn’t know what to make or what to do,” Pistorius said. “I don’t think I’ve ever screamed like that. … I was crying out to the Lord, I was crying out for Reeva.”

Pistorius said he ran back to the bathroom and began beating on the door. “I got the door unlocked and flung the door open and I sat over Reeva and I cried,” Pistorius said. “I don’t know how long. I don’t know how long I was there. She wasn’t breathing.”

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