Oscar Pistorius charged with murder after 'he accidentally shot dead Reeva Steenkamp' Incident happened at his Pretoria mansion, north of Johannesburg at 4am Celebrated sprinter is in police custody before a court hearing tomorrow Officers have visited his house before over alleged 'domestic incidents' By Martin Robinson, Simon Tomlinson and Dan Newling In Cape Town Gunfire was heard inside his Pretoria mansion at 4am this morning and it is believed his partner may have been killed after a Valentine's Day surprise went tragically wrong. The dead woman is Reeva Steenkamp, 30, a former FHM model who had been dating the 26-year-old for two months. She was shot in the head, the chest and the arm, police have said, and Pistorius will appear in court tomorrow after a hearing scheduled for this afternoon was cancelled. Pretoria police spokeswoman Denise Beukes confirmed he had been charged with murder, adding they had been called to his home on several occasions since 2011 to deal with 'allegations of a domestic nature'. Charged: Oscar Pistorius, his head lowered and face covered, leaves the Boschkop police station in Pretoria for a blood test at hospital prior to being taken to court Covered up: Pistorius is not handcuffed despite being accused of murdering his girlfriend on Valentine's Day Last weekend she reacted to the shocking death of Anene Booysen on February 1, a 17-year-old gang-raped, murdered and mutilated at a construction site in Bredasdorp, a rural town close to Cape Town. Next to a stark cartoon image of a woman screaming with a hand over her mouth she wrote on her Instagram account: 'I woke up in a happy safe home this morning. Not everyone did. Speak out against the rape of individuals in SA. RIP Anene Booysen. #rape #crime #sayNO Pistorius, 26, is widely known as the Blade Runner, and has also been dubbed 'the fastest man on no legs'. Pistorius's father Henke said this afternoon his son was 'sad' and a 'bit emotional', adding: 'I don't know nothing. It will be extremely obnoxious and rude to speculate. I don't know the facts. If anyone makes a statement, it will have to be Oscar. He's sad at the moment.' Couple: Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp had been dating for a few months after meeting at a South African awards ceremony Last appearance: Reeva Steenkamp was photographed at the Virgin Active Sports Industry Awards in Johannesburg a week ago (left) and was often showing her own snaps on Twitter But a case last year was so vile the largely desensitised public of South Africa was still shocked. Last summer a gang of robbers gunned down a father, raped and murdered his wife. Then, in a final act of sickening brutality, they drowned the couple's 12-year-old son in scalding bath water. Amaro Viana (pictured) was murdered in Walkerville, a suburb of Johannesburg, to prevent him from identifying the three housebreakers who carried out the raid. Pretoria police would not confirm the man's identity until he appears in court, adding a 9mm pistol was recovered from the scene and a case of murder is being investigated. Officers are still busy with preliminary investigations at the scene, and statements are being taken from neighbours on the luxury Silver Woods estate. Police say the couple were the only people in the home at the time, there was no sign of forced entry and said the claim that Pistorius had thought his girlfriend was an intruder had not come from them. Outside his home, Miss Steenkamp's friend Mashadi Motsogi broke down in tears. The distressed model said she heard the news of Miss Steenkamp's death on Twitter. 'I have lost a friend,' she said, telling reporters that Miss Steenkamp's death in a secure complex did not make sense. Look, security here is safe. We moved to this area for security reasons. It does not make sense to me that my friend was shot, mistaken for an intruder. Police said an application for bail by Pistorius's lawyer Kenny Oldwage would be opposed when he appears in court tomorrow. Pistorius was taken to hospital this morning for a medical examination police said was a 'standard procedure'. 'They (hospital staff) test under the nails, they look for scratches, bruises, and blood is taken for alcohol and drug screening,' a spokesman said. In 2009 Pistorius spent a night in police cells after a woman complained to police that he had assaulted her during a party at his house. The incident allegedly occurred at the same Silver Woods home as where Miss Steenkamp died. Although Pistorius was charged with assault, he was eventually released with a warning. At the time, police spokeswoman Sergeant Marinda Stoltz said the victim, whom Pistorius had told to leave, banged and kicked his front door. He (Pistorius) told the girl "this is my house and my friends and you have to leave." He then started closing the door when a wooden beam weighing about 1,5kg fell on her leg and injured her. She said the girl reported the incident hours later. 'The girl then also admitted that she had been drinking,' said Stoltz. In a later piece for the New York Times he took a reporter to the local shooting range to fire his 9mm handgun and two boxes of ammunition. Home: Neighbours of the athlete say they heard noise from the house (pictured today) just before the authorities arrived Location: Pistorius's home is inside a gated housing complex with a nature reserve, golf course and lots of green space, all within high walls Police: South African police vehicles enter the Silverwoods security estate in Pretoria East where famous South African paralympic and Olympic sprinter, Oscar Pistorius, allegedly shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp today Investigation: Police spokeswoman Denise Beukes confirmed the celebrated athlete was in custody charged with murder Famous: Reeva Steenkamp worked primarily for Ice Model Management in Johannesburg, who expressed their distress at her death today Her instagram site Miss Steenkamp's last entry four days ago showed a cartoon female face being hit by a hand, and was accompanied by: 'I woke up in a happy safe home this morning. RIP Anene Booysen. A post on the same site two weeks ago shared a poster detailing the joys of finding love. The poster read: 'It's beautiful when you find someone that is in love with your mind. Someone that wants to undress your conscience and make love to your thoughts. 'Someone that wants to watch you slowly take down all the walls you've built up around your mind and let them inside.' Friends and loved ones posted tributes onto her Facebook page within minutes of news of her death. Nicky Hiles said: 'Another young taken due to crime in South Africa', Dawn Walker said: 'Such a tragedy... RIP,' Kathleen Louise Nutman added: 'Gone two (sic) Soon RIP. Perhaps due in part to his sudden financial and sporting success, Pistorius has a notoriously complex love life. Prior to their split late last year, he spent a year and a half dating Cape Town marketing student Samantha Taylor. But even while he was with Miss Taylor, he was linked with numerous other women, including Russian model Anastassia Khozissova. Pistorius was first seen with Miss Steenkamp at an awards ceremony in South Africa last November. At the time, the FHM model said the pair were 'just friends'. But when it became clear that Pistorius and Steenkamp were in fact dating, the sportsman's then ex Samantha Taylor said: 'Oscar has such a way with women. She's probably not the only one he's got. Miss Taylor went on to tell South Africa's City Press newspaper that 'Oscar is certainly not what people think he is.' Custody: Clothes hang out of prison cells at the Pretoria Central Prison, where Oscar Pistorius is allegedly being held before his court appearance today In 2009, Silver Woods Golf Estate (above) was voted 'the most secure estate in South Africa', according to its website. As well as its golf course, Silver Woods estate has tennis courts, a driving range, a restaurant, a squash club and a fishing club, as well as a 'social responsibility committee'. The 26-year-old sportsman has a history of risk taking and also, reportedly, of violence. In November last year, he reportedly 'threatened to break the legs' of the friend of a man whom he believed had slept with his then girlfriend, who is not Miss Steenkamp. According to newspaper reports, the sportsman approached South African football player Marc Batchelor in the VIP room of a horse racing track and verbally threatened him. Many athletes have reacted to the news as the story unfolded. Jessica Ennis spoke of her shock on Twitter, describing the 'the horrendous news' as 'an awful tragedy'. Denise Lewis said: 'Not a good morning athletics fans - News reports on Oscar Pistorius are unbelievable.' Britain's Paralympic discus champions also went online to relay their shock. Aled Davies tweeted 'Wow... Crazy news about Oscar... Devastating and speechless...' while Josie Pearson simply stated it was 'Tragic'. Wheelchair racer Shelly Woods, silver medallist in the London 2012 Paralympic marathon, tweeted: 'Woke up to shocking news about Oscar Pistorius, very very sad...' Oscar Pistorius was born 26 years ago into a prominent family in Pretoria without fibulas, the outer of the bones that run between the knee and the ankle. His parents, Sheila and Henke, grappled with information, complied with doctors" advice, and at 11 months, his legs were amputated below the knee. At 13, Pistorius began boarding at Pretoria Boys School (above). All his mother could say was, 'Of course he'll cope. VIDEO Pistorius leaves police station after murder charge... VIDEO Police detail 'previous domestic incidents' in Pistorius home VIDEO FHM Model Reeva was due to star in upcoming Tropika Island of Treasure