In the third week of Oscar Pistorius' murder trial at the Pretoria High Court, a gun dealer stated that the Paralympian was aware of the laws on gun safety prior to buying his firearms and subsequently obtaining his required licenses.
Rens' statements were said to be vital to the prosecution's case as it refuted the argument of Pistorius' defense team that their client had made a reasonable mistake in killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, CNN said. Both sides are trying to prove that Pistorius intentionally or accidentally shot his girlfriend.
CNN said Sean Patrick Rens had told the court that Psitorius was able to answer the questionnaire correctly. Rens then reportedly ticked off what Pistorius was aware of based in the questionnaire, which include a legal provision that it is illegal for someone to shoot at an unknown individual who appeared to have broken into the house and to shoot at a burglar if there are bars that separate you and the assailant. Moreover, the gun dealer also said that Pistorius is aware of the rule that it is allowed for someone to shoot at an assailant if there's no obvious protection and that the latter approaches that someone with a weapon. Rens also added in court that Pistorius is aware based on the questionnaire that he can fire at an assailant if the attack is against yourself or a person and is deemed unlawful.
On the other hand, Rens' statement had proven more vital to an otherwise faltering case prosecution has made against Pistorius, CNN said. So far, the court bore witness to testimonies ranging from the athlete's ex-girlfriend, a pathologist who performed an autopsy on Steenkamp, and a senior police officer who had recounted how his district had messed up evidence during their initial investigation at the scene of the crime.
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