American pastor Josh Sullivan rescued in the shooting after kidnapping at gunpoint in South Africa, authorities say

The American pastor Josh Sullivan was rescued Tuesday in the midst of a shooting between the South African police and his captors left to three dead suspects, authorities said on Wednesday. Sullivan, originally from Tennessee, was kidnapped gunpoint During a prayer meeting in his church in South Africa on the night of April 10.

According to a statement issued by the South Africa Police Service, a specialized unit dedicated to serious crime, known as the Hawks, led the operation to rescue the 45 -year -old man.

The American was kidnapped from his Baptist Church in Fellowship in the municipality of Motherwell, outside the coastal city of Gqeberha, and was rescued from a box house used by its captors in that city.

“The operation followed the verified intelligence in which a coordinated team that composed of the severe team of organized crimes of the Hawks, the Anti-Gang unit, the intelligence of the crime, the tactical response team and other key police partners quickly moved to the identified location,” said the police. “As the officers approached the house, they observed a vehicle in the facilities. The suspects inside the vehicle, seeing that the police allegedly tried to flee and opened fire against the team. The officers responded with tactical precision, which led to a high intensity shooting in which three unidentified suspects were fatally dressed.”

Police said Sullivan was discovered in the same vehicle and “miraculously unharmed, medical staff evaluated it immediately and is currently in excellent condition.”

Police said that four armed and masked suspects entered the church on Thursday, stole two cell phones and then kidnapped Sullivan, in their car, a Toyota Fortuner, who found himself a short time later in Motherwell.

Reverend Jeremy Hall, a local shepherd, told the French News news agency that Sullivan’s kidnapping was probably “financially related.”

Police spokesman, Captain Andre Beetge, told News that the cases are generally delivered to the Hawks unit when rescues are demanded. The kidnappings, even for criminal gangs that take people who believe they can command large bailouts, have increased in South Africa in recent years.

Sullivan was celebrating a prayer meeting with about 30 people, including his wife and six children, when the armed kidnappers entered their church, Hall said.

Sullivan arrived in South Africa with his Tennessee family in November 2018, according to his personal website.

“We are looking to finish the language school soon and plant a church for the people of Speech Xhosa,” he wrote on the site.

Sullivan has been in Fellowship Baptist Church staff in Maryville, Tennessee, since February 2012, according to the website.

Sullivan’s wife, Megan, issued a statement through a family spokesman on Saturday that thanks people for “the effusion of love and prayers.”

In:
• South Africa
• Kidnapping