US man shot, robbed after car’s GPS leads him to dangerous South African town

A 55-year-old American tourist has spoken of his nightmare holiday which left him in hospital after being robbed and shot in the face in one of the world’s most dangerous neighborhoods. According to The sun, Walter Fischel, from Connecticut in the United States, was shot in the face the same day he landed at Cape Town International Airport, South Africa, earlier this month. The 55-year-old was still recovering from surgery when he poignantly recounted his near-death experience while on holiday in South Africa.

Mr. Fischel had landed in Cape Town on November 3 to visit his friends, the exit reported. He quickly rented a car and exchanged money at the airport before heading to his accommodation in Simon’s Town. The 55-year-old entered his destination into the GPS and chose the shortest route. However, he did not know that the route would take him to Nyanga, a neighborhood considered one of the most dangerous places in the world.

“I would come to Simons Town to visit, then go to Hermanus, spend six or seven days in Hermanus, then go back to the United States,” Mr. Fischel said. News24. “(I) chose the route – the shortest distance – that wasn’t the highway, because there was apparently traffic on the highway,” he said.

According to the 55-year-old, the GPS route took him from Nyanga, which he said “wasn’t the best” and traffic was so congested that he had to stop. At that point, he said four men surrounded his car before shooting him in the face.

“It got slow enough that he was stopped, (and) the guy reached in, opened it, hit the lock, opened the door, (and one of his) accomplices opened the passenger door,” Mr. Fischel told the media outlet. .

The American tourist said he tried to grab the man’s gun, but the shooter “walked away from (me) while his accomplice grabbed some of the goods” in the car. He was then shot and the men grabbed the keys and threw him out of his vehicle.

“Then I opened the trunk to try to grab my bag, which I did, then they chased me and grabbed me, took the bag from me and left me there with a gunshot wound,” Mr. Fischel said. “I spat out some teeth and the ball,” he added.

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According to The sun, Mr. Fischel was rushed to a local hospital where doctors explained to him what had happened to him. “They told me they would take care of me. Very good doctors,” he said.

But doctors soon realized they were not equipped to treat Mr. Fischel when they discovered he had a fractured mandible and still had a bullet hole in his face. He was then quickly transferred to the Rondebosch Medical Center in Cape Town, which had the doctors and machines to help him.

If his wound had been higher or lower, there’s a good chance he would have died, the American tourist said. Doctors, on the other hand, said News24 that the team needed to secure an airway to save Mr. Fischel because blood could have entered his lungs.

Today, the 55-year-old is recovering. He said he was grateful to be alive but angry that he didn’t see it coming. As he awaits his return to the United States, Mr. Fischel said there were not enough warnings for foreigners. He called on the city’s law enforcement agencies to take better measures to ensure the safety of travelers.