An American missionary in South Africa who was kidnapped during a church service last week was rescued by authorities following a deadly shootout on Tuesday.
After searching for Josh Sullivan, 45, for five days, police received a tip that the missionary was being held in a safe house in KwaMagxaki, Gqeberha, which is around 20 minutes away from Sullivan’s church. When authorities approached the house on Tuesday, they saw multiple suspects inside a vehicle who opened fire on police, according to a statement from the South African Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (HAWKS).
“The officers responded with tactical precision, leading to a high-intensity shootout in which three unidentified suspects were fatally wounded,” the statement added.
Following the deadly shootout, Sullivan was found inside the vehicle “miraculously unharmed,” according to authorities. He was later assessed by medics and is in “excellent condition.”
While the South African authorities did not share the name of Sullivan in their statement, Pastor Tom Hatley, who oversees Fellowship Baptist Church in Maryville, Tennessee, where the Sullivans were previously members, shared the news of the missionary’s rescue.
“Josh has been released. I just got ‘the go ahead to let it be known,'” Hatley wrote on Facebook, adding, “Thank you for your support and prayers. Please do not stop praying for The Sullivans. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ!”
Sullivan, a husband and father of six children, was taken at gunpoint by armed men while he was preaching a sermon at Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell, just outside the city of Gqeberha, last Thursday. Around 30 people, including Sullivan’s family, were at the church service when Sullivan was kidnapped, but no one was harmed.
The captors reportedly knew Sullivan’s name when they entered the church, and Fellowship Baptist Church was the target of threats last year, according to human rights group International Christian Concern, sparking concern that Sullivan was taken because of his faith. However, Reverend Jeremy Hall, who also pastors in the Gqeberha area, said the kidnapping was likely “financially related.”
South Africa has experienced a massive spike in kidnappings over the past decade, jumping 264%. From 2023 to 2024 alone, there were more than 17,000 kidnappings in the country.
The post <a href=https://www.dailywire.com/news/miraculously-unharmed-american-missionary-rescued-in-deadly-shootout-after-gunpoint-kidnapping target=_blank >‘Miraculously Unharmed’: American Missionary Rescued In Deadly Shootout After Gunpoint Kidnapping</a> appeared first on Conservative Angle | Conservative Angle - Conservative News Clearing House
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