Oscar Pistorius has told a court he fired his weapon "by
accident" after hearing a noise in his bathroom and thinking he was about
to be attacked by an intruder.
Fighting back tears, the 27-year-old said: "When I heard a noise, I didn't have time to think and I fired my weapon. It was an accident.
"If Reeva had come out or she had spoken to me I wouldn't have fired. The noise coming from the bathroom made me pull the trigger."
During a second day of cross-examination, prosecutor Gerrie Nel claimed Pistorius' version of events on the night of February 13 last year "is a lie" and the barrister accused him of "adapting" events to suit his account.
The double amputee recounted waking up during the night and getting out of bed to close the doors to a balcony, shut the curtains and move fans into the room.
Miss Steenkamp is then thought to have got out of bed, but the athlete said he was unable to see her because he had his back turned and the room was dark.
Pistorius also said a duvet and fan in images shown to the court had been moved by police officers after Miss Steenkamp's death.
Mr Nel portrayed him as selfish and prone to tantrums during the couple's four-month relationship. He also questioned him about text messages sent by Miss Steenkamp which claimed she was "scared" of his reactions.
He read from one message which said: "'I've been upset with you for two days now... I'm scared of you sometimes'. Why would she be scared of you?"
Pistorius replied: "I think she's scared of the feelings that she had for me, she says 'I'm scared of you sometimes and how you snap at me and how you will react to me'.
"I never shouted or screamed at her. It hurt her feelings about the way I would react."
Mr Nel accused the athlete of "picking on" Miss Steenkamp, claimed Pistorius "did not care enough" to tell Miss Steenkamp he loved her and insisted their relationship was focused on "me, Oscar".
The athlete also told the court he was "terribly sorry" he had taken his girlfriend's life after he was asked why he had not apologised in person to her family.
He said: "I am terribly sorry that I took the life of their daughter. I didn't think they would want to see me."
Pistorius was accused of blaming his legal team for not questioning claims made by witnesses and was asked a series of questions over his handling of firearms and ammunition.
He has admitted a handgun went off in a restaurant while in his possession, and told the court he carried his gun everywhere and usually had a bullet in the chamber.
The court heard Pistorius had ammunition belonging to his father in the safe at his home, for which he did not have a licence. He also had an extra magazine in his bedside drawer, which was found when he was arrested, and usually carried his gun with him at all times for safety reasons.
Pistorius denies premeditated murder and illegally possessing ammunition and two further counts related to shooting a gun in public in separate incidents prior to the killing.
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