Which is worse – knowing why somebody tried to kill you whilst you were sat in your car outside your home, or having absolutely no idea why?

Jakes van der Merwe falls into the latter category, because he remains none the wiser as to the motives of the assassin who tried to kill him on February 12 in Gardens, Cape Town.

Images and CCTV footage of the incident have now been made public by the SAPS, who are appealing for help from the public.

Here’s the CCTV footage, in the hopes that you may recognise this man:

Speaking to TimesLIVE, Jakes recounted the attack:

“I have a bullet in my neck and I can’t even feel it. It’s like it’s not there,” said a confused Jakes…

“I heard a huge bang and glass shattered all over me. It felt like someone had hit me with a bat on my neck. As I pulled my hand away from my neck, there was blood all over it.

“One bullet was lodged in the door panel next to my head and the other one entered my neck and lodged into my vertebrae. The bullet was 1mm away from rupturing my carotid artery which would have killed me. I should be dead or at least paralysed,” said Van der Merwe as he sat in his Cape Town home on Wednesday, rubbing his wound.

Doctors say it’s miraculous that he survived, and have chosen not to try and remove the bullet from Jakes’ neck.

Here’s an x-ray showing the lodged bullet:

A case of attempted murder has been opened, but so far the assassin remains at large.

The car used had cloned number plates, although Sgt Shaun Bardien of the Central police station in Cape Town hopes that the man’s unusual walking style and build could lead him to being found, with the public’s help.

Jakes, who now carries a gun with him at all times, is at a loss for any motive:

“I want to know what this is all about so I can have an opportunity to apologise or speak to the person who wants me dead. I work in civil litigation, so my line of work is relatively harmless. I’ve been racking my brain as to who may be so angry with me that they would want to kill me but I can’t think of anyone,” said Van der Merwe…

“I believe God saved my life and I would like an opportunity to forgive the man who shot me,” said Van der Merwe. “I just want to know what this is all about.”

Jakes might want to forgive him, but I’d like to see the shooter locked up behind bars for the rest of his days.

If you have information that could be helpful to the investigation, contact Sgt Bardien at the Central police station on 082 469 3176.

[source:timeslive]