Oscar Pistorius had 'big love' for guns Published duration 11 March 2014

media caption Darren Fresco told the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius that the athlete had a "big love" for guns

A friend of Oscar Pistorius has told his murder trial that the athlete "had a big love" for guns.

Darren Fresco said that he had been with him on two occasions when a gun had been fired in public.

Mr Pistorius had once accidentally fired a gun in a restaurant but made him take the blame, Mr Fresco said.

The Paralympic athlete denies intentionally killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp and says he mistook her for a burglar.

Mr Fresco said that on another occasion, he had been driving when Mr Pistorius fired a gun out of a sunroof after police stopped him for speeding.

He said Mr Pistorius had become angry after a police officer handled his gun, which was on the back seat of the car.

"You can't just touch another man's gun," said Mr Pistorius, according to Mr Fresco.

"Now your fingerprints are all over my gun. So if something happens, you're going to be liable for anything that happens," Mr Pistorius reportedly warned the officer.

The BBC's Pumza Fihlani says Mr Pistorius was far more composed than on previous days. He sat cross-legged, looking straight at his friend and taking notes.

Mr Fresco's testimony, our correspondent adds, has given the court a glimpse into the fast life he shared with his friend - guns, sports cars, beautiful women and a seeming disregard for police officers.

Mr Pistorius' ex-girlfriend described the same incident in court in the first week of the trial.

Samantha Taylor said both men had been agitated after police stopped them and had joked about "shooting a robot [traffic light]".

Mr Fresco denied making the joke and said that the mood had been calm before the shot was fired "without warning".

He said he had been left feeling as if his ears were bleeding and that Mr Pistorius had laughed after firing the shot.

The trial has now been adjourned until Wednesday.

image copyright Getty Images image caption Oscar Pistorius shot Reeva Steenkamp through a bathroom door

Earlier, Mr Pistorius' defence team questioned a pathologist's finding that his girlfriend had eaten less than two hours before he killed her.

This contradicts the athlete's account that the pair had been in bed for several hours before the shooting.

Pathologist Gert Saayman said Ms Steenkamp had been shot three times, in the head, hip and arm but that he did not know the order of the injuries.

If she had been shot in the hip or arm first, screaming would have been expected, he said.

Neighbours have previously said they heard a woman screaming before the shots were fired but Mr Pistorius' defence lawyers argue that the athlete was the only one who screamed.

When pressed by defence lawyer Barry Roux, Dr Saayman said that there could be an error of "an hour or two" in his estimation of when Ms Steenkamp last ate.

"Gastric emptying is not an exact science My Lady but I don't think we should throw out the baby with the proverbial bathwater," Dr Saayman said.

Judge Thokozile Masipa banned live coverage of Monday's testimony from the post-mortem because of its graphic nature.

Mr Pistorius has appeared distraught as the events of 14 February 2013 have been recounted in the court in Pretoria.

He was physically sick as Dr Saayman presented his evidence about the nature of Ms Steenkamp's injuries.

The state is seeking to convince the court that Mr Pistorius and Ms Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, reality TV star and law graduate, had an argument before the athlete fired the shots that killed his girlfriend.

There are no juries at trials in South Africa, and his fate will ultimately be decided by the judge, assisted by two assessors.

If found guilty, the 27-year-old, a national sporting hero dubbed the "blade runner" after having both lower legs amputated, could face life imprisonment.