Oscar Pistorius, who made history at the 2012 London Olympics as a double-amputee running on carbon-fiber blades and competing in the major sprinting events — hence the nickname “Blade Runner” — made history of a much more infamous sort shortly thereafter when he was convicted for murdering his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Following his nearly 9 year stay in a South African prison, Pistorious was granted parole late last year. Per South African law, all convicts are eligible for parole once they serve half of their appointed sentence (and Pistorious' full sentence was just over 13 years).

Department of Corrections spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo told The Associated Press that Pistorius, who is now 37, quietly left the Atteridgeville Correctional Center in Pretoria and was processed at a parole office before being released to his family. Nxumalo called Pistorius' release an “operation” intended to avoid a media scramble, but declined to offer other details.

“I can only tell you he was released this morning,” Nxumalo said.

Almost 11 years ago, the world react stunned as Pistorius was arrested for the murder of his 29-year-old girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp after shooting her four times in his house. Pistorious claimed he shot Steenkamp in error, mistaking her in the middle of the night for a dangerous intruder hiding in a bathroom in his Pretoria villa.

He fired the four shots through a locked toilet cubicle door, hitting his girlfriend in the head, hip and hand. He claimed he fired the gun in what he thought was self-defense, saying he didn’t know it was his girlfriend in the cubicle. Prosecutors argued that Pistorius intentionally killed Steenkamp in anger during an argument.

Under the terms of the parole, Pistorious will be unable to speak to the media, and faces other strict conditions, until his sentence ends in December 2029. It is expected that Pistorious will serve his parole at the large home of his uncle in Prestoria suburb Waterkloof, as that is where he resided during his seven-month trial in 2014.

Steenkamp’s mother, June Steenkamp, released a statement on Friday commenting on Pistorious' parole with an understandably emotional response, saying that she accepted the parole, but that the pain of Reeva's death was “still raw and real.”

“Has there been justice for Reeva? Has Oscar served enough time? There can never be justice if your loved one is never coming back, and no amount of time served will bring Reeva back,” said June Steenkamp. “We who remain behind are the ones serving a life sentence.”

Steenkamp continued that, “With the release of Oscar Pistorius on parole, my only desire is that I will be allowed to live my last years in peace with my focus remaining on the Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation, to continue Reeva’s legacy.”