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Oscar Pistorius Sentence: Tragedy Highlights Staggering Level Of South African Gun Crime

10 Chilling Facts About Gun Crime In Pistorius's Hometown
Louise Ridley
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UPDATE:

Oscar Pistorius was afraid, and according to South African crime statistics, he had cause to be.

When he fired four shots through a toilet door and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, he used a silver 9mm pistol, which he kept under his bed to defend himself against intruders.

His fears were fatally misplaced on the night of Valentine's Day 2013, but they weren't completely illogical.

The athlete's claim that he believed there was a dangerous intruder in his home - which was accepted by the judge who acquitted him of murder - must be seen in the context of the staggering gun crime in Pretoria, his home town and one of South Africa's largest cities.

It has a population the size of greater Nottingham, around 700,000 people.

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Pretoria is known as the Jacaranda city

As Pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison for manslaughter, Pretoria was purple, coloured by its thousands of distinctive Jacaranda trees. There's a local myth that a Jacaranda blossom falling on your head will bring good luck.

However, Reeva's brutal killing challenges two other myths often used in South Africa's pro-gun debate, according to the US website Mother Jones: “Namely, that keeping a gun at home makes you and your loved ones safer, and that guns make women safer.”

As the Pistorius tragedy draws to a close, these 10 facts reveal the dangerous reality behind Reeva's fate.

Gun crime in Pretoria
Pretoria has one of the highest gun murder rates in the world(01 of10)
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Pretoria is one of three capitals of South Africa, which has one of the highest gun murder rates in the world, with more than 8,000 people killed a year.

The number of gun homicides is similar to that in America - which has a population four times larger.

Beyond firearms violence, 47 people are murdered in South Africa every day. To put that in perspective: in 2013, England and Wales recorded 500 murders. South Africa has around the same population but recorded 17,000. (credit:Veronica Garbutt via Getty Images)
Murders are increasing(02 of10)
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Violent crime and murder had been falling for a decade - a fact credited on tighter gun laws from 2004 - but the country has just experienced two of the worst years in the last decade for crime reduction.

In 2013-2014, South African murders increased for the second year running for the first time in two decades. (credit:New York Daily News via Getty Images)
Two men fired at judges in Pretoria magistrate's court(03 of10)
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Pretoria magistrate's court, where Pistorius attended his bail hearing, was the scene of gun violence for the first time, just weeks before the verdict in his case.

Two men fired at judges in the court on 19 August, injuring a policeman and a court orderly and escaping in a hijacked police car, sparking concerns about security. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
There are around 6 registered guns per 100 people(04 of10)
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It is untrue to say that carrying a gun is the norm in South Africa - in 2011 there were around 6 registered guns per 100 people.

There are around 1.6 million people in South Africa with gun licences, carrying a total of 2.2 million guns.

At the time of the shooting, Pistorius had applied to register six guns in addition to his pistol. His testimony suggested that, until that night on 14 February 2013, he was well-acquainted with how to use firearms responsibly. Laws permit one firearm for self defence and others for hunting, sport and collections. (credit:Gallo Images via Getty Images)
Using guns is seen as entertainment(05 of10)
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In a Pretoria shopping centre there is a one-stop firearm training centre, where Pistorius practiced.

Meanwhile, malls in Gauteng province (where Pretoria is) were robbed more than every three days in September. (credit:Richard I'Anson via Getty Images)
Finding an illegal gun in South Africa is easy(06 of10)
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It's hard to get a legal gun in South Africa, but the internet suggests finding an illegal gun might not be so difficult.

The classified advertising site junkmail.co.za lists over 300 gun-related items for sale from Pretoria, including semi-automatic shotguns for around 6,000 South African Rand (£300).

They are listed in the ‘household’ category of the site alongside lounge furniture, baby accessories and washing machines.

Also listed is a self-defence kit for 4,500 Rand (£250) which includes two-way radios, pepper spray, a pocket knife, handcuffs and a torch.
The bullets were designed to damage a body as much as possible (07 of10)
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Pistorius shot Reeva with a type of bullet know as hollow-point or 'dum-dums'. They are designed to damage body tissue as much as possible by expanding when they enter a target, so that they don't leave the body. They were banned from use in was over 100 years ago, but are considered the best bullets for self-defence due to the impact each single shot has.

Australian website news.com.au asked Johan Gerber, the owner of a shooting range which Pistorius visited, why anyone would want to own such ammunition.

His answer: "To be more aggressive. Some people believe...if you shoot directly at a person then the hollow-point is better. But sometimes you have to shoot through a car door and then the solid is better.” (credit:Charlie Shoemaker via Getty Images)
Half of South Africa's 15,000 annual carjackings happen in Gauteng(08 of10)
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Half of the country's 15,000 annual carjackings - often by armed men - take place in Gauteng, where Pretoria and Johannesburg are.

During the 2010 World Cup, Pretoria News crime reporter Graeme Hosken told the BBC he had nearly been hijacked "on an open freeway” and advised people to keep their car locked while driving and not to stop for people who appear to have broken down.

In some more dangerous areas, tourists are concerned about stopping at lights is not advised after dark because of "red-lighting", when carjackers target stationary vehicles. (credit:Andreas Stirnberg via Getty Images)
Robberies in homes are a real threat(09 of10)
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Johannesburg is renowned for being a crime hot spot, but the lesser-known Pretoria, 60km away, is not far behind it. Last year there were 14,397 crimes reported in Jo-burg and 11,799 in Pretoria.

There were nearly 20,000 robberies in homes last year in South Africa - and one of the highest rises was 12% in Gauteng province. (credit:AFP/Getty Images via Getty Images)
Avoid the zoo...(10 of10)
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US citizens in South Africa were advised earlier this year to avoid Pretoria Zoo - home to meerkats and cheetah cubs - after a spate of armed robberies against visitors.

Police and security at the attraction were boosted and the US embassy now considers it to be safe - but warns to use the official parking facilities and avoid any 'street car guards' not employed by the zoo. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)

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