South African Olympic and Paralympic athlete, Oscar Pistorius, has been found guilty of culpable homicide for shooting dead his partner.

Judge Thokozile Masipa announced the ruling on Friday, saying that Pistorius had acted “negligently” in killing Reeva Steenkamp when firing four hollow point rounds into a locked toilet door last year.

Pistorius claims he thought he was shooting at an intruder.

Masipa ruled that the Paralympian “is found not guilty [of murder] and is discharged, instead he is found guilty of culpable homicide.”

She added that “a reasonable person” would have anticipated that “whoever was behind the door might be killed,” but Pistorius did not take steps to avoid that.

Meanwhile, the court cleared the celebrity athlete of charges of illegally possessing ammunition which he said belonged to his father.

The judge agreed to set the Paralympic sprinter free on bail pending sentencing beginning on October 13. He could face anything from a fine to more than a decade behind bars.

The ruling comes as South Africans and legal experts have expressed shock and dismay after Pistorius was found not guilty of murder, with the prosecution saying that he killed his partner after an argument.

The judge dismissed state evidence that pointed to an argument between the couple, saying, “Neither the evidence of the loving relationship or a relationship turned sour can assist this court to determine whether the accused had the requisite intention to kill the deceased.”

She also rejected evidence by neighbors who testified to hearing shots and screams around the time of the shooting and said some witnesses might have been affected by the huge media coverage of the case.

Pistorius became an international celebrity as he made history when he became the first double-amputee to compete both at Olympics and Paralympics in 2012.