Pistorius Wrap: Gun Licence Initially Rejected

Beeld newspaper reported that his licence, for a 9mm firearm, was not approved when he applied for it in 2008. This is the firearm with which Pistorius allegedly shot dead his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in his Pretoria home last week. He is applying for bail on Tuesday. Beeld said it was not clear why the application was unsuccessful but the licence was approved in 2010 after Pistorius appealed against the decision not to grant him a licence. He has six other pending applications for firearm licences, reported the Afrikaans daily. Meanwhile, Oscar Pistorius' trainer said on Monday he is shocked that the Olympic athlete is facing murder charges, describing him as a polite and humble man. Jannie Brooks, who has trained the "Blade Runner" for more than a decade, said he knew nothing about Pistorius' personal or social life. But he said the charges that he murdered his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, came like a bolt from the blue. "It was definitely a very, very big shock for us, very sad," Brooks told AFP. He said he has been training Pistorius since he was a teenager and saw nothing amiss about him. "All the time he trains here he is always very humble, very polite with all the people -- so we never really experienced nothing in terms of ... bad or negative sign[s] for more than 10 years." Pistorius' longtime coach also says he's still in shock following the "heart-breaking events" of Reeva Steenkamp's shooting death, which he calls an accident. Ampie Louw said in an email to The Associated Press that he spent time with Pistorius and Steenkamp and said that the late model, who prosecutors allege Pistorius murdered, would often accompany the double-amputee athlete and Olympian to training. Louw, who first convinced Pistorius to take up athletics, said in a statement "I am looking forward to the day I can get my boy back on the track." Pistorius, who is being held at a Pretoria police station over the Valentine's Day murder, is in court on Tuesday to seek bail. The prosecution wants to charge him for pre-meditated murder. The widespread shock at his arrest has become a measure of his stellar status in sport and beyond. "A lot of people here and overseas still support him and so they will weigh what will happen (in court)," said Brooks. The 26-year-old had both legs amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old because of a congenital condition that meant he was born without fibulae -- lower leg bones. But he grew up to race non-disabled athletes on his custom-made carbon fibre blades. Brooks told AFP last year that Pistorius "likes fast cars. Every time he comes here, he's got another car. "He is just built for speed, because the cars have an amazing performance... that, I think, is his hobby." In other news, Nike said on Monday that it has no plans to use Pistorius in future ad campaigns after the sports star was charged with murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend. Nike Inc spokesman KeJuan Wilkins confirmed the shoe company's plans to The Associated Press. He declined to say whether Nike had previously had any plans for Pistorius, or whether it will pull current advertising that includes A Nike Internet ad showing Pistorius starting to sprint in his blades with the caption: "I am the bullet in the chamber" has already been pulled. Wilkins said the wording in the 2007 campaign "was in reference to Oscar's speed and performance on the track. Nike felt it was appropriate to take the ad down from Oscar's website recognizing the sensitivities of the situation." Pistorius' website, which has been posting statements from his manager and his family, still shows other Nike ads, as well as logos from it and other sponsors. One of those, sunglasses maker Oakley, did not respond to a message from The Associated Press on Monday. However, Peet Van Zyl of Pistorius' management company said Monday that "at this point in time, all sponsors are still on board, and they have given us their commitment towards Oscar, based on the relationships that they have formed with him over the past years." He added that the sponsors "are quite happy to allow the legal process to take its course before they make any other further and formal announcements about it." Pistorius' agent has cancelled the athlete's future scheduled races.