American pastor Josh Sullivan, who was kidnapped during a church service in South Africa last week, has been rescued after a high-intensity shoot-out between police and the kidnappers, leaving three suspects dead.
Sullivan, 45, was found unharmed in the township of Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday evening, where he was abducted from on Thursday.
The kidnappers, suspected to be familiar with the family’s movements, had made a ransom demand, prompting the intervention of South Africa’s elite police unit, the Hawks.
Acting on verified intelligence, the Hawks launched a swift operation to free Sullivan, resulting in a shoot-out when the suspects attempted to flee and open fire on the officers. Sullivan’s family and friends had been pleading for his safe return since his abduction.
A “church planting missionary,” Sullivan moved to South Africa with his family in 2018 to establish a church for Xhosa-speaking people.
The rescue comes amid a surge in kidnappings for ransom in South Africa over the past decade.
