Firearms supplier Sean Rens recalled a conversation he had with South Africa's six-time Paralympic gold medallist after he thought there were burglars in his Pretoria home.

Pistorius had taken out his gun before discovering the noise came from a tumble drier.

He tweeted about the incident in November 2012, writing: "Nothing like getting home to hear the washing machine on and thinking it's an intruder to go into full combat recon mode into the pantry!"

The tweet has since been deleted.

Rens also told the court Pistorius knew the rules on dealing with intruders and gun use.

He had bought a gun from Rens, a Smith and Wesson 500, and then ordered several more from him.

The order was cancelled around one month before he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp dead.

Pistorius had completed a questionnaire and examination before he could be issued with a firearm, the outcome of which the court heard.

One question was: "There is no security gate between you and the burglars. They are armed and they advance towards you. Can you discharge your firearm because you fear for your life?"

Pistorius replied "Yes".

More pictures showing the scene inside Oscar Pistorius' Pretoria home after the shooting were shown to the court ©Getty Images



He was also asked: "Explain the legal requirements when using a firearm for private use."

Pistorius answered: "Attack must be against you, it must be unlawful, it must be against persons."

The final question on the importance of target identification saw Pistorius respond: "Always know your target and what lies behind."

Day 11 of the trial also heard from police photographer Bennie van Staden, who went through a number of pictures taken at the scene of the fatal shooting.

He said Pistorius was "very quiet and emotional" when he arrived at the scene at 4.50am on February 14 last year.

The court was shown pictures of Pistorius' blood-covered prosthetic leg, blood spots on the bedroom wall, the bloodied cricket bat the athlete says he used to batter down the toilet door after the shooting and bullet casings in the passage leading from the bedroom to the bathroom.

Van Staden refuted claims made by the defence that the timeline in which the pictures were taken was muddled.

The 27-year-old Paralympian admits shooting Steenkamp but denies premeditated murder.

The trial continues.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
March 2014: Pictures of blood-covered Pistorius after shooting girlfriend dead shown in court
March 2014: Court sees images of blood-splattered house in Pistorius murder trial
March 2014: Pistorius broke down toilet door when not wearing prosthetic legs, court told
March 2014: Pistorius "had love for guns" friend tells court as trial continues
March 2014: Pistorius vomits in court as graphic evidence given as trial enters second week