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Oscar Pistorius made history when he joined the men's 400m heats as the first amputee to take part in an Olympics track event.

Johannesburg — A 26-year-old man, reportedly Paralympian Oscar Pistorius, has been arrested for allegedly shooting a woman dead in a house in Silverlakes, Pretoria, Gauteng police said on Thursday.

"Paramedics declared the woman dead on the scene and police proceeded with their investigation. The woman sustained wounds to her head and the upper body," spokeswoman Lt-Col Katlego Mogale said.

Mogale would not confirm an earlier news report that Pistorius was the shooter.

The woman, aged 30, died on the scene.

Mogale said police were called following a shooting at a townhouse complex in Silverlakes.

"When police arrived they found the paramedics attending to the woman.

The paramedics declared the woman dead on the scene and police proceeded with their investigation of the scene."

A 9mm pistol was recovered.

The man has been taken into custody and a case of murder was being investigated.

Beeld newspaper earlier reported on its website that Pistorius allegedly accidentally shot dead his girlfriend after mistaking her for a robber.

Police spokeswoman Captain Sarah Mcira confirmed this to Beeld.