An American pastor, Josh Sullivan, has been rescued by South African police after being abducted at gunpoint during a church service in Motherwell, near Gqeberha. The rescue operation ended with the deaths of three suspects involved in the kidnapping.
Sullivan, a 45-year-old missionary from Tennessee, has been working in South Africa since 2018. He was preaching at the Fellowship Baptist Church last Thursday when four armed men stormed the building. The attackers took two mobile phones from church members and forced the pastor into his own vehicle, which was later discovered abandoned.
Following a tip-off, police tracked the suspects to a house in the KwaMagxaki area. When officers approached, the suspects attempted to escape in a vehicle and opened fire. Police returned fire, killing all three men. Sullivan was found inside the vehicle, unharmed, and was given immediate medical attention.
South Africa has seen a sharp rise in kidnapping cases, with over 17,000 incidents reported in the last financial year—an 11% increase from the previous year.
Sullivan has now been reunited with his family. Authorities are continuing their investigation to determine the full motive behind the abduction and whether more individuals were involved.
