Shot tourist discharged from hospital as family crowdfund to get him home

A US tourist who was shot and robbed while driving through Nyanga in Cape Town has been discharged from hospital and plans to enjoy the next few days in the city while his sister runs a crowdfunding campaign to get him home. 

Walter Fischel, 55, intended visiting friends in Simon’s Town after being evacuated from a coastal city in Israel where he had been working for about nine months. Using a GPS navigation device, he selected the shortest route to avoid traffic after leaving the airport and was routed via Nyanga. 

He was discharged from Rondebosch Medical Centre on Thursday.

His sister Valerie has created a GoFundMe page titled “Help Walter Get Home” to contribute towards his expenses and a flight back to Connecticut.

“Thankfully and miraculously, he is OK and will make a full recovery. However, all of his personal belongings were stolen including his passport, credit cards, and phone,” reads the crowdfunding appeal.

“He was able to obtain a new passport and is expected to be well enough to travel next week, but his accounts have been frozen since the robbery and he is unable to book a flight home. (Not to mention the added cost of flying from South Africa to the US last minute and on the weekend before Thanksgiving.)

“He is currently out of work and has a family to support along with anticipated medical bills. There's a lot of stress and uncertainty around this whole situation, but the first step is to get my uncle safely home,” wrote her daughter Cate.

Fischel told broadcaster eNCA he would still see his friends and stay on for a while for further medical check-ups.

Police spokesperson Capt FC van Wyk said the provincial serious and violent crimes unit was investigating the incident.

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