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By News24 Wire

Wire Service


Attorney shot in his car in Gardens, Cape Town

A vehicle pulled up next to Jakes van der Merwe's Toyota Land Cruiser in Constantia Road and fired two shots.


A civil attorney was shot and wounded in his car in Gardens, Cape Town, on Tuesday morning.

News24 understands that a vehicle pulled up next to Jakes van der Merwe’s Toyota Land Cruiser in Constantia Road and fired two shots, wounding him in the neck.

A colleague, who did not want to be named and who worked with Van der Merwe told News24: “He’s doing okay.”

At the crime scene, a bullet hole was seen in the window on the driver’s side of the grey Land Cruiser, and another on the metal panel between the driver and passenger windows.

The tree-lined road is in a quiet neighbourhood.

A resident, who did not want to be named, recalled that she had heard a loud bang. She did not leave her home to investigate as she said it didn’t sound like a shot, but like someone had dropped a heavy piece of metal.

Details are still slim at this stage. Western Cape police spokesperson Colonel Andre Traut confirmed that unknown suspects had fired shots at a 53-year-old man who was sitting in his vehicle.

“The victim was admitted to hospital for the treatment of a gunshot wound. The suspects fled the scene and are yet to be arrested.”

Police were investigating the attempted murder.

In December, Cape Town advocate Vernon Jantjies was shot dead in an apparent hit at a petrol station in Mitchells Plain.

The murder followed those of prominent Cape Town advocate Pete Mihalik and attorney Noorudien Hassan.

Hassan, who was linked to some of the province’s most high-profile gang cases, was shot in his car outside his home in Lansdowne, Cape Town, on November 7, 2016. Mihalik, who worked closely with Hassan, was shot dead while dropping off his children at Reddam House Atlantic Seaboard School in Green Point, Cape Town, on October 30, 2018.

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