(CNN) -- Oscar Pistorius has claimed in a court hearing that when he heard noises in his home, he mistook his girlfriend for an intruder and accidentally shot her with his 9 mm pistol.
Plausible? The courts will decide. In the meantime, the killing has highlighted South Africa's history of gun violence and high crime. And it's shown the world that many South Africans live with a palpable, almost paranoid, fear of having their homes broken into.
In the past year, more than 50% of South Africans told the country's police force that they're afraid. The number of home burglaries across the country of 50 million have more than doubled. They totaled 9,063 in a 12-month period spanning 2002/2003; seven years later, it was up 18,786. And in a similar period ending in 2012, reported break-ins dipped to 16,766, according to South Africa's crime reporting body, the Institute for Security Studies.
The international group Gunpolicy.org reports that there are about 6 million licensed firearms in South Africa.
"The paranoia about being a victim of a house robbery is understandable," said the group's small arms researcher Lauren Tracey. "Victims are relatively helpless against these attacks."
It's common to see armed guards patrolling gated, middle-class neighborhoods.
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South African Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius appears at Magistrate Court in Pretoria, South Africa, on Tuesday, February 19. He's charged with premeditated murder in the death of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp.
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South African Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius appears at Magistrate Court in Pretoria, South Africa, on Tuesday, February 19. He's charged with premeditated murder in the death of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp.
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South African model Reeva Steenkamp died early Thursday, February 14, 2013 after a shooting at the Pretoria home of Olympian Oscar Pistorius, her boyfriend.
Reeva Steenkamp in photos
Hiring a private security firm is not the exception but the norm. Workaday people install panic buttons, closed-circuit televisions, man trap doors, boom gates and outdoor point-to-point infrared motion-sensing beams on their houses.
Also unique to South Africa: When burglars break in, they likely aren't after a flat-screen television or jewelry, experts say. They want the homeowner's guns.
South African model Reeva Steenkamp died early Thursday, February 14, 2013 after a shooting at the Pretoria home of Olympian Oscar Pistorius, her boyfriend.
Reeva Steenkamp in photos
That's in part because it's very hard to acquire a gun legally in South Africa, but it remains, many say, relatively easy to get a gun illegally.
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A history of violence
To understand South Africa's gun culture, it's crucial to go back nearly two decades. In 1994, apartheid ended. The official system of racial segregation, in place since 1948, took rights away from black Africans and gave virtually all power in every aspect of life to whites.
For generations, violence born out of apartheid spawned a kind of arms race; blacks and whites fought against each other, and everyone else armed themselves, afraid to be caught in the cross fire.
Gun violence was at a record high as the country made its first effort to become what archbishop and peace crusader Desmond Tutu envisioned -- a rainbow nation.
Other spiritual leaders around the country began campaigning to reduce violence.
"Before 1994, there was a low-key civil war in South Africa," said Claire Taylor, a spokesperson for Gun Free South Africa, a non-profit group that grew out of a movement to cut down on crime born from years of inequity during apartheid. "Both sides -- white and blacks -- were armed soldiers in a way."
The roots of gun culture in South Africa are not unlike those of the United States, she said.
"There is a history of colonization, of taking, of settling," she said. "For black people, the AK-47 was a symbol of liberation, of fighting back. There is huge meaning attached. Gun are about fighting and superiority."
Unlike the United States, the right to own a gun is not written in the country's constitution.
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Police have confiscated and destroyed hundreds of thousands of unlicensed guns, but it's unclear how many illegal guns remain on the street.
Researcher Tracey also believes that criminal violence is rooted in South Africa's historical traumas. There was rampant proliferation of firearms in the nation before the end of apartheid, and liberation movements stockpiled them.
Many of those weapons, she said, were never recovered.
Laying down the guns
As Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, took office in 1994, there was a tremendous desire to put the guns down.
"There was a national feeling that we had lived under the gun for so many years during apartheid, and we had to do something to signal that beginning anew was possible," said Claire Taylor, the non-profit's spokesperson.
Taylor was personally motivated to act. At the time, one of her closest friends was shot to death during a break-in.
In 2000, South Africa passed the Firearms Control Act. Since then, violence by handguns, Taylor said, has dropped steadily, often by double digits.
Among the law's rigors: Before it was enacted, 16 was the minimum age to own a gun; today it's 21. To apply for a gun, you have to take competency tests, akin to a driver's license test, which demonstrates that not only can you shoot straight, but that you also know the law and how to store your firearm safely.
Next, law enforcement conducts a background check that runs an applicant's criminal history and also tries to assess whether the applicant has a propensity for violence, may be mentally ill or suffers from an addiction that might cloud their judgment. An applicant must give references whom the authorities will interview, including relatives and a spouse, if that's possible, Taylor said.
Authorities go a step further, checking medical information and digging into any instances of domestic violence or employment issues.
Once licensed, gun owners must reapply and requalify for their licenses every two to 10 years.
South African law also helps ensure that only one gun per person is approved. If someone is a sport shooter or has a reason that for needing to own more than one gun, he must file a separate application and explain, Taylor said.
The law isn't a fix-all
The law isn't perfect. As one South African correspondent put it, guns are still very much a part of the culture. Signs at South African airports and casinos point to where consumers should drop off their weapons.
And gun ownership advocates say that is why people are still incredibly afraid of hearing someone creeping in their house at night.
There are about 2,000 guns stolen from legal gun owners in South Africa every month, according to Gun Free South Africa.
Between April 2005 and March 2011, more than 18,000 police firearms were reportedly stolen or lost. Guns have gone missing from police stations.
There's also a severe backlog in gun license applications, some of which date back several years. A task force has been appointed to look into the problem, Taylor said.
All of this has highlighted one fact for the country gun rights organization Gun Owners of South Africa.
Executive Wouter de Waal told CNN that it is "dead easy" to get weapons illegally.
And there's little reason for armed burglars to think they'll be caught and punished. The rate of arrest and prosecution in the country is 7%, said former detective Rudolph Zinn, who wrote a book about home invasions and now trains South African police.
He believes there's one chief reason for that: Few South Africans trust law enforcement because in recent years, the police force has become politicized, with higher ranking officers who are politically appointed.
"In 1994 there was a push to have policing more community-focused, there was more legislation to focus on that," he said.
"There was a distrust related to our heritage," he says, referring to apartheid, "and unfortunately, over the years, we've gone back to that. I saw it often when I was a detective.
There are undoubtedly more home invasions, he said, than are officially counted.
"People don't even want to report a crime," he said, "because they don't believe anything is going to come of it."
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CNN's Emily Smith contributed to this report.
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A picture taken on January 26, 2013, shows Pistorius, 26, and his Steenkamp, 29, at Melrose Arch in Johannesburg.
Pistorius leaves the Boshkop police station with his face covered in Pretoria East to be taken into custody on Thursday, February 14.
Pistorius appears in an advertisement for Nike with the unfortunate slogan "I am the bullet in the chamber." The image appeared on Pistorius' offical website, but has now been removed.
Pistorius won gold for the first time at the 2004 Athens Paralympics in the men's 200 meter final and set a new world record.
A pair of prosthetic legs stand on the ground as Pistorius coaches children at the Regional Arena, in Manchester, England, April 11, 2006.
Pistorius competes in a 400-meter race at the International German Championships Athletics for Disabled in Berlin on June 14, 2008.
Pistorius looks on during the the men's 400-meter B race during the IAAF Golden Gala on July 11, 2008, in Rome, Italy.
Pistorius runs to win gold ahead of Jerome Singleton, left, of the U.S. in the final of the 100-meter T44 as Marlon Shirley of the U.S. falls during the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games on September 9, 2008.
Pistorius poses with his medals from the IPC Athletics Championships at QE II Park on January 29, 2011, in Christchurch, New Zealand. He won three world titles, but lost the 100-meter T44 final to Jerome Singleton of the U.S., his first loss in a race over 100 meters since the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games.
Pistorius speaks with Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson of the United States during a media gathering prior to the 13th IAAF World Athletics Championships Daegu 2011 on August 26, 2011, in Daegu, South Korea. Pistorius was the first amputee athlete to compete at the World Athletics Championships.
Pistorius passes the relay baton to Ofentse Mogawane of South Africa in the men's 4x400-meter relay heats during the IAAF World Athletics Championships at the Daegu Stadium on September 1, 2011, in Daegu, South Korea.
Pistorius, center, races in the men's 400-meter Round 1 heat in the London 2012 Olympic Games on August 4, 2012.
Pistorius of South Africa competes in a Round 1 heat on August 4 at the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium.
Pistorius carries the flag during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympics at the Olympic Stadium on August 29.
Pistorius runs across the finish line to win the men's 4x100-meter relay T42-46 final at the London 2012 Paralympic Games on September 5.
Pistorius competes in a men's 400-meter T44 heat at the London 2012 Paralympic Games on September 7.
Pistorius poses on the podium with his gold medal after winning the men's 400 meter T44 final at the London 2012 Paralympic Games on September 8, 2012.
Pistorius waves after receiving his honorary doctorate from Strathclyde University on November 12 in Glasgow, Scotland.
This undated handout picture released on February 14, 2013 by "Ice Models" in South Africa shows model Reeva Steenkamp.
Capacity Relations, the agency that represents Steenkamp, announced her death. "She was the kindest, sweetest human being; an angel on earth and will be sorely missed," the agency said on Twitter.
The model was born in Cape Town and grew up in Port Elizabeth. She later moved to Johannesburg, where she worked for various companies, including Toyota and cosmetics maker Avon.
Steenkamp, who had a law degree, has also worked as a presenter for FashionTV in South Africa and as a FHM covergirl.
Her passion included cars and cooking, and she was set to appear in the Tropika Island of Treasure Show on Saturday, according to the show's website.
"We are deeply saddened and extend our condolences to Reeva's family and friends," the show said in a message on its website.
Steenkamp died early Thursday after a shooting at the Pretoria home of Olympian Oscar Pistorius, her boyfriend. She is pictured here on February 07, 2013 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
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