"I can confirm to you that a 26-year-old suspect will be appearing in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court this afternoon following a shooting at Oscar Pistorius' house," spokeswoman Lt-Col Katlego Mogale said.

He reportedly shot his girlfriend.

Police have taken Pistorius who covered his head from the scene.

Police would not confirm who the suspect was as he had not appeared in court yet.

Mogale said the woman's name could only be released once her next of kin had been informed.

Police were called to the athlete's home at the Silverwoods Country Estate in Boschkop, Pretoria, on Thursday morning following a shooting.

"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," Mogale said.

A 9mm pistol was recovered.

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.