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BREAKING NEWS: Oscar Pistorius Found Guilty Of Culpable Homicide In Killing Of Girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp

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A South African judge has delivered a guilty verdict to Olympian Oscar Pistorius in the shooting death of model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, Friday, September 12, 2014 in Pretoria.

Earlier, the judge had found the double-amputee athlete who is popularly called the Blade Runner, not guilty of murder and 2nd degree murder.

Judge Thokozile Masipa said today that Pistorius was not guilty of murder, as prosecutors had alleged. She ordered Pistorius to stand before she delivered the verdict.

The sentence for a culpable homicide conviction is at the judge’s discretion, and it can range from a suspended sentence and a fine to up to 15 years in prison. Sentencing would be announced at a later date.

Pistorius was also convicted on one of three unrelated firearm charges. The judge ruled that the athlete was guilty of unlawfully firing a gun in a public place when a friend’s pistol he was handling discharged under a table in a restaurant in Johannesburg in early 2013 — weeks before Steenkamp’s killing, Huffington Post reports.

Pistorius was acquitted on two other gun charges, including a count of firing a gun in public and a count of illegal possession of ammunition in the Pretoria home where he killed Steenkamp.

Thursday, Masipa said there was not enough evidence to support a murder conviction for Pistorius’ killing of Steenkamp.

Pistorius fatally shot Steenkamp in his home on Feb. 14, 2013. The couple had been dating for three months prior to the shooting. He said he mistook her for an intruder, while the prosecution said he killed her intentionally after an argument.

The blade runner arrived at court today with heavy security as journalists swarmed to get a comment from him. Armed security officers stood at each of the three entrances to the courtroom, while others stood near the red-robed judge as she explained her verdicts from her dais overlooking the court. There were also paramedics in the courtroom.

Steenkamp’s family was in the room when the verdict was delivered.

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