Oscar Pistorius trial day 3: Blade Runner shot boxer Kevin Lerena in restaurant incident

The third day of Oscar Pistorius’ murder trial in South Africa has begun with another key witness saying the athlete was responsible for a weapon being fired at a restaurant last year.

Boxer Kevin Lerena told the court that Oscar Pistorius had asked the owner of the gun to take the blame.

The incident happened the month before Oscar Pistorius shot dead his 29-year-old girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

Double amputee Oscar Pistorius, 27, denies intentionally killing Reeva Steenkamp, saying he mistook her for an intruder.

The Paralympic champion also denies charges of illegally possessing ammunition.

Reeva Steenkamp, a model and reality TV star, was shot dead in the early hours of February 14, 2013, at Oscar Pistorius’s home in Pretoria.

Kevin Lerena, a professional boxer, is the fourth witness to take the stand at the trial, which began at the High Court in Pretoria on Monday.

He testified that he had been to Tasha’s Restaurant in Johannesburg with Oscar Pistorius and two other people, including Darren Fresco, in January 2013.

Darren Fresco had passed his firearm to Oscar Pistorius and said “I’m one up”, meaning there was a bullet in the chamber of the gun, Kevin Lerena said.

When the firearm was handed over a there was a shot followed by “complete silence”, he added.

Oscar Pistorius had apologized and asked Darren Fresco to take the blame, which he had agreed to do, Kevin Lerena said.

“Please, I don’t want any attention around me. Just say it was you,” Oscar Pistorius pleaded, according to Kevin Lerena.

Prosecutors say Oscar Pistorius planned the killing and shot Reeva Steenkamp after a row.

Earlier witnesses at the trial were neighbors of Oscar Pistorius who testified about the sounds they heard around the time of Reeva Steenkamp’s death.

If found guilty of premeditated murder, Oscar Pistorius could face life imprisonment.

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