On the mend at the Milpark Hospital, Sunday Times columnist David Bullard still has ”great faith in the future of South Africa” after being shot in an armed robbery.
”I am unwilling to be beat down … I have great faith in the future of South Africa,” Bullard said on Friday after being moved to a general ward from intensive care on Friday.
He became the latest high-profile victim of crime when he and his wife, Jacqueline, were attacked in their Parktown North home in Johannesburg on Wednesday evening.
He said he wrote empathically about the crime situation in the country in the past, but will be doubling his efforts after his traumatic experience.
Consolatory messages wishing Bullard a speedy recovery were posted on the Sunday Times website from as far afield as London.
These provided solace to the tongue-in-cheek columnist, who said he had an ”incredible feeling of caring” after the immense response from people at home and abroad.
On Friday, he said while he still felt ”painful and delicate”, he was on the mend. His wife, Jacqueline, was under ”a lot of stress”.
”She’s been bearing the brunt of it … it’s quite difficult for her; she’s been going to work and having to sort everything out,” he said.
The couple will both receive counselling and will be beefing up security at their home of 15 years. The prospect of returning there, where his blood still stains the carpet, is something about which Bullard is nervous. ”To walk through the door won’t fill me with a warm feeling,” he said.
Johannesburg police spokesperson Captain Cheryl Engelbrecht said on Friday the incident is being investigated and no arrests have yet been made.
Two men had gained access to Bullard’s home through a bathroom window.
It appeared that Bullard’s wife was taken up to the bedroom by one of the robbers when a shot went off. The columnist was shot once, with the bullet going through his arm and into his abdomen.
The two men then fled though the same window, taking a handbag and cellphone with them. — Sapa