South African Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius will face two additional gun-related charges when he goes on trial for murder next year , a spokesman for South Africa 's National Prosecuting Authority said . The charges will be heard alongside the murder charge when Pistorius ' trial begins in March , Nathi Mncube told CNN . Pistorius , nicknamed the `` Blade Runner '' for the special prostheses he uses for sprinting , has admitted to shooting dead his model girlfriend , Reeva Steenkamp , in his high-end home on Valentine 's Day . But he has said it was an accident . The gun-related charges are not new but have been moved from the South Gauteng jurisdiction where they were filed to the jurisdiction where the murder trial is being held , North Gauteng . Pistorius is accused of two separate instances of firing a gun in a public space . The National Prosecuting Authority decided to transfer them so that `` all charges against Pistorius can be heard at the same place at the same time in front of the same judge , '' Mncube said . The state has indicted the track star on a premeditated murder charge and , if convicted , he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison . Legal analysts in South Africa say they think the prosecution will seek to characterize Pistorius as a trigger-happy , irresponsible gun owner . However , this apparent strategy could backfire if the gun-related charges made it seem less likely that Pistorius shot Steenkamp deliberately , said Kelly Phelps , a CNN legal analyst and lecturer in the law faculty of the University of Cape Town . The alleged gun-related offenses , which will be prosecuted under South Africa 's Firearms Control Act , date back to before the death of Steenkamp , but were not previously acted on . The fact the National Prosecuting Authority is pursuing the charges now adds weight to the idea that prosecutors are seeking to create a negative `` character picture '' of Pistorius , Phelps said . Pistorius , a double amputee , denies the murder charge and has said he mistook his girlfriend for a home invader when he fired shots from a pistol through a bathroom door that the 29-year-old was behind . A spokeswoman for Pistorius said this month that he 's hired an American forensic team to give expert testimony to cast doubt on evidence against him .
Oscar Pistorius will face two gun-related charges alongside a murder charge , prosecutors say . He 's due to go on trial in March for the murder of his girlfriend , Reeva Steenkamp . The athlete already faced the gun charges , but they have now been moved to the same court . Score: 7