Friend: 'Mad' Pistorius fired gun out car sunroof

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP):

Oscar Pistorius' friend testified Tuesday that the Olympian twice fired guns in public in the six months before he killed his girlfriend, once without warning through the sunroof of a moving car following an angry altercation with a policeman who had handled Pistorius' pistol.

Darren Fresco said he asked Pistorius immediately after the sunroof shooting if he was "mad" and the world-famous runner "just laughed" at him.

Pistorius denies shooting the gun in the car, although now two witnesses say that he did.

Fresco's testimony portrayed Pistorius as a reckless hothead who also asked Fresco to take the blame for a gun being fired accidentally under a table in a busy Johannesburg restaurant.

But Fresco's account appea-red to be undermined when Pistorius' defence lawyer created doubts over Fresco's recollection of some events. Fresco responded to a number of questions from Barry Roux on cross-examination by saying he didn't remember. He also said he'd been following some previous testimony in the case on Twitter, which witnesses should not do.

Pistorius, 27, is on trial for murder for the shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year, but also faces two firearm charges for shooting in public and a third firearm charge for illegal possession of ammunition.