--- description: Samantha Taylor says Oscar Pistorius was trigger happy and quick to get angry title: Oscar Pistorius's Ex Says He Was Trigger Happy, Short Tempered image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3217afa2e84e6542/6986842f35ba6f3ed4c00d17/pistorius-trial.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ex-Girlfriend Says 'Blade Runner' Had a Temper and Loved His Gun  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Mar 7, 2014 3:52 PM CUT  Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius reacts during the fourth day of his trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, March 6, 2014. Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius reacts during the fourth day of his trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, March 6, 2014.Werner Beukes—Reuters  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Mar 7, 2014 3:52 PM CUT Oscar Pistorius’ ex-girlfriend [said](http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-exgirlfriend-pistorius-20140307,0,4830315.story#axzz2vI10P1Sz "undefined") Friday that the Olympian double-amputee known as “Blade Runner” had a temper and was known to fire his gun when angry. Samantha Taylor testified at Pistorius’ murder trial in South Africa that he was quick to get angry, would frequently scream at her and her family members, and cheated on her multiple times, including with Reeva Steenkamp, the woman he’s accused of murdering. She also said he never went anywhere without his pistol, and recalled at least two occasions when he had drawn or fired his gun out of anger, the Los Angeles _Times_ [reports. ](http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-exgirlfriend-pistorius-20140307,0,4830315.story#axzz2vI10P1Sz "undefined") Taylor said Pistorius had once fired his pistol out of an open sunroof because he was angry that a policeman had stopped the car and touched the gun. Taylor also described another incident when Pistorius had pulled a gun on a car that was following theirs. Taylor’s testimony also rebutted one of the defense’s key arguments, that Pistorius sounded like a woman when he screamed. “When he screamed, it sounded like a man,” she said. Pistorius killed his girlfriend, Steenkamp, very early on Valentine’s Day morning last year. His defense team says the Olympian athlete shot into the bathroom thinking he was shooting an intruder and protecting Steenkamp. The prosecution says Pistorius shot Steenkamp during an argument that was heard by multiple neighbors. Taylor said that Pistorius did occasionally wake up and think there were intruders in the house, but she said he always woke her up when that happened. \[[_LAT_](http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-exgirlfriend-pistorius-20140307,0,4830315.story#axzz2vI10P1Sz "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/15743/oscar-pistorius-trial-blade-runner-ex/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/15743/oscar-pistorius-trial-blade-runner-ex/"},"headline":"Ex-Girlfriend Says 'Blade Runner' Had a Temper and Loved His Gun","datePublished":"2014-03-07T15:52:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:38:51.417Z","description":"Samantha Taylor says Oscar Pistorius was trigger happy and quick to get angry","url":"https://time.com/15743/oscar-pistorius-trial-blade-runner-ex/","keywords":["South Africa","Murder","Africa","olympics","oscar pistorius","Reeva Steenkamp"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3217afa2e84e6542/6986842f35ba6f3ed4c00d17/pistorius-trial.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3217afa2e84e6542/6986842f35ba6f3ed4c00d17/pistorius-trial.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius reacts during the fourth day of his trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, March 6, 2014.","caption":"Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius reacts during the fourth day of his trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, March 6, 2014.","creditText":"Werner Beukes—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/15743/oscar-pistorius-trial-blade-runner-ex/","name":"Ex-Girlfriend Says 'Blade Runner' Had a Temper and Loved His Gun"}}]}] ```