JOHANNESBURG (AP) ― A remarkably public feud erupted Tuesday within the family of Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee Olympian charged with murdering his girlfriend, as the runner and his relatives distanced themselves from comments his father reportedly made about guns and crime in South Africa.

South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress, also waded into the family dispute. A spokesman for the party accused Henke Pistorius, the runner’s father, of racism for his observations reported in British newspapers about crime against white South Africans and the suggestion that the ANC government isn’t adequately protecting them.

The Pistorius family and the reputation management firm it has hired are working to head off any negative publicity or controversy that might possibly have a bearing on the outcome of the runner’s case, which could see him jailed for life if convicted of premeditated murder.

They quickly issued a statement early Tuesday morning saying the family “is deeply concerned” about the father’s interview that “doesn’t represent the views of Oscar or the rest of the Pistorius family.”

The Telegraph and Mirror newspapers quoted Henke Pistorius as saying the family owns handguns for self-defense. That is not unusual in South Africa. Two years ago, Police Minister Nkosinathi Emmanuel Mthethwa said the country of 49 million people had 1.7 million registered firearm owners holding 2.9 million guns.

Oscar Pistorius had a police license for the 9 mm pistol with which he shot Reeva Steenkamp.

The gun collectors’ club, the Lowveld Firearm Collectors Association, which the runner joined last April said Pistorius also owned but hadn’t yet licensed six other firearms for his gun collection.