A US missionary, Josh Sullivan, who was kidnapped from his church in Motherwell, South Africa, last week, has been safely rescued by police.
The rescue occurred during a shootout in Gqeberha, where three suspects were killed.
Sullivan, 45, was abducted at gunpoint during a sermon at the Fellowship Baptist Church. Acting on information, police approached a house in the KwaMagxaki area, where the suspects attempted to escape in a vehicle and opened fire on the officers.
Credit: IOL
During the resulting exchange of gunfire, all three suspects were fatally wounded. Sullivan was found “miraculously unharmed” inside the vehicle.
Sullivan, who moved to South Africa from Tennessee with his family in 2018, was the victim of a kidnapping in a country where such crimes are on the rise.
South African police statistics indicate that kidnappings increased by 11 per cent in the 2023/2024 financial year, with over 17,000 cases reported.
