Oscar Pistorius was in ‘combat mode’ — ready to attack at slightest noise — in days before fatal shooting
Firearms expert Sean Rens testifies Monday that the South African sprinter was in ‘code red’ before slaying his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013. He was ready to shoot at the slightest provocation, Rens said.
Oscar Pistorius listens to cross-examination during his trial on Monday.
Oscar Pistorius went into "combat mode" three months before he gunned down his girlfriend.
Pistorius said he was walking into his Pretoria pad when he heard a noise and immediately drew his weapon, firearms expert Sean Rens testified Monday at the South African sprinter's murder trial.
The intruder turned out to be the washing machine.
"He went into what we call 'code red' or combat mode," testified Rens, who runs a local gun range that Pistorius frequented. "When he came to the source of the noise, it was the laundry or something."
Oscar Pistorius was attempting to build an arsenal of gun prior to the shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Pistorius even tweeted about the incident in November 2012.
"Nothing like getting home to hear the washing machine on and thinking its (sic) an intruder to go into full
combat recon mode into the pantry!" he wrote.
Rens' testimony is significant because Pistorius told cops an eerily similar story after he fatally shot 29-year-
old Reeva Steenkamp of Valentine's Day 2013.
A double amputee who became a national hero after competing in the London Olympics, Pistorius told
detectives he thought an intruder had broken into his bathroom and fired four shots through the door not
realizing Steenkamp was inside.
The invoice for Oscar Pistorious' gun purchases, which he returned a month later.
Prosecutors contend Pistorius is a short-fused gun nut who chased Steenkamp into the bathroom after a fight and blasted four times with his 9mm Taurus Parabellum handgun when she would not let him inside.
Rens said Pistorius had "a great love and enthusiasm" for guns and was amassing an arsenal at the time of the fatal shooting.
A month afterward, Pistorius canceled his June 2012 order for a Smith & Wesson 500 revolver, a Smith and Wesson .38 special revolver, a Vektor LM6 assualt rife, a Winchester pump-action shotgun, two Mossberg shotguns and a Mossberg rifle.
He had also ordered 600 rounds of ammunition.
SIPHIWE SIBEKO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Oscar Pistorius (right) with lawyer Barry Roux. Their defense was dealt a crushing blow on Monday after a gun expert testified about Pistorius’ competency with handling guns.
Under South African, a person is allowed to buy a maximum of four weapons. A person has to be certified as a hunter or collector to buy more.
Rens testified that Pistorius, as was part of his certification, was quizzed on how to correctly handle a firearm in various scenarios.
Pistorius correctly answered "no" when asked if it was okay to shoot at two unidentified men who threatened to kill him from behind a security gate - and "yes" when asked if it was okay to shoot and somebody advancing on him with a gun.
Rens was followed on the stand by police photographer, Warrant Officer Bennie van Staden, whose description of scuff marks on Pistorius' blood-spattered prosthetic legs caused Steenkamp's mother, June, to flee the court in tears.
Pistorius, 27, faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder. He has been dubbed the "Blade Runner" because of the scythe-like prosthetics he uses to run.
csiemaszko@nydailynews.com
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