Oscar Pistorius Talked Guns, Intruders And Went To Shooting Range During 2012 Interview

Just months after his historic participation in the London Olympics, double-amputee sprint star Oscar Pistorius faces murder charges in the fatal shooting of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. The shooting death at Pistorius' home in a gated community in Pretoria, South Africa shocked the world on Valentine's Day.

The death of the 30-year-old model and Pistorius' arrest also brought renewed attention to a 2012 interview that the track pioneer gave to Michael Sokolove for The New York Times Magazine. In the January 2012 piece, Sokolove detailed a trip he took to a shooting range with Pistorius. Sokolove also recounted a story from Pistorius in which the man known as the "Blade Runner" due to his prostheses armed himself to fend off a non-existent intruder after an alarm at his home went off during the night.

Here is Sokolove's account of the trip to the shooting range:

“We should go to the range,” he said. He fetched his 9-millimeter handgun and two boxes of ammunition. We got back in the car and drove to a nearby firing range, where he instructed me on proper technique. Pistorius was a good coach. A couple of my shots got close to the bull’s-eye, which delighted him. “Maybe you should do this more,” he said. “If you practiced, I think you could be pretty deadly.” I asked him how often he came to the range. “Just sometimes when I can’t sleep,” he said.

According to The Associated Press, police recovered a 9-mm pistol at the scene and Steenkamp had been shot four times.

Police made clear that they were not the source of initial media reports that Steenkamp may have been mistaken for an intruder, according to CNN.

"It would be very premature and very irresponsible of me to say what actually has happened," said police spokeswoman Brigadier Denise Beukes. "There have been allegations. We are not sure."