US missionary kidnapped in South Africa rescued in 'high-intensity shootout': Police

[ad_1] LONDON and PRETORIA -- An American missionary allegedly kidnapped at gunpoint throughout a church service in South Africa final Thursday has been rescued in "a high-intensity shootout" between police and his suspected captors, authorities mentioned on Wednesday.

Three unidentified suspects have been killed throughout Tuesday's rescue operation, which was led by the South African Police Service's elite Hawks unit, based on a press release from police spokesman Lt. Col. Avele Fumba.

Whereas police haven't but named the rescued American, the Tennessee church with which he's affiliated has recognized him as Josh Sullivan.

"Josh has been launched. I simply received 'the go forward to let or not it's recognized," Tom Hatley, pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Maryville, Tennessee, mentioned in a Fb publish early Wednesday. "Thanks in your help and prayers. Please don't cease praying for The Sullivans. Reward The Lord Jesus Christ!"

Investigators found that the kidnapped U.S. citizen, believed to be a pastor at a church within the South African port metropolis of Gqeberha, was being held at a secure home there, Fumba mentioned. As officers approached the home on Tuesday, suspects inside a automobile opened hearth and tried to flee the scene, Fumba mentioned, "resulting in a high-intensity shootout wherein three unidentified suspects have been fatally wounded."

"The sufferer was discovered inside the identical automobile from which the suspects had launched their assault," Fumba added. "Miraculously unhurt, he was instantly assessed by medical personnel and is at present in a wonderful situation."

The investigation stays ongoing, based on Fumba.

Sullivan's mom, Tonya Rinker of Maryville, Tennessee, beforehand confirmed that her son had been kidnapped.

"As a mom, you by no means take into consideration one thing like this occurring to your baby, however religion carries you thru the uncertainty," Rinker instructed ABC Information in a press release final week. "Joshua's humor and wit are a blessing; he’s at all times prepared with a joke, and ceaselessly searching for to make individuals snicker."

Rinker described her son as "an distinctive father, husband, and son, embodying kindness, energy and generosity. He has a servant's coronary heart, a sort, compassionate spirit and is full of selflessness. He has a burden for misplaced souls and has devoted his life to serving God in South Africa."

Sullivan was reportedly kidnapped by armed males who burst right into a church in Motherwell, a township close to Gqeberha within the Jap Cape province of South Africa, the Fellowship Baptist Church in Maryville mentioned on its Fb web page final week.

The incident unfolded at about 7 p.m. native time on Thursday when the pastor of the church "was allegedly confronted by at the very least 4 unknown armed suspects throughout a church service," Fumba instructed ABC Information in a press release.

Witnesses instructed investigators that the suspects compelled the minister into his personal automobile after which fled, Fumba mentioned.

In keeping with a biography on what seems to Sullivan's web site, he describes himself as a “church-planting missionary to the nation of South Africa,” who arrived there in November 2018 along with his spouse, Meagan, and their youngsters to run Fellowship Baptist's Motherwell church there.