A US pastor abducted in South Africa has been rescued after a police shootout
JOHANNESBURG — An American pastor who was kidnapped last week by armed and masked men during a sermon in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa was rescued on Tuesday after three of his abductors engaged in gunfire with officials and were killed, police reported Wednesday.
The 45-year-old American citizen, Josh Sullivan from Tennessee, has been based in the Motherwell township branch of the Fellowship Baptist church since 2018 alongside his wife and two children.
The missionary was abruptly abducted on Thursday evening when four men broke into the Fellowship Baptist church in Motherwell. They stole two cellphones from members of the congregation before seizing Sullivan from the pulpit and bundling him out of the building. His truck was found abandoned a few hours later.
A multi-agency task force, including the Anti-Gang Unit and the Serious Organised Crime unit, took over the investigation. On Tuesday night they approached the location where they suspected Sullivan was being held, a house in KwaMagxaki, Gqeberha about 20 minutes' drive from the Baptist church.
According to police, a shootout began when suspects in a car parked outside the house tried to escape and began firing at them. Three unidentified suspects were killed, police said.
'The victim was found inside the same vehicle from which the suspects had launched their attack,' Lieutenant Colonel Avele Fumba said in a statement. 'Miraculously unharmed, he was immediately assessed by medical personnel and is currently in an excellent condition.'
The number of kidnappings in South Africa has risen by 264% over the past decade, police data showed.
According to the Institute of Security Studies, a think tank specializing in Africa, kidnapping has become a key tactic in armed robberies and carjackings. In its latest Africa report, the ISS notes that less than 5% of kidnappings in South Africa involve ransom demands.
Since his release, Sullivan, who describes himself as 'a church-planting missionary' on his personal website, has been reunited with his wife Meagan and their two children.
A man named Tom Hatley, whom Sullivan describes on his personal blog as his childhood and training pastor, posted a picture of Sullivan and his family on Facebook. Explaining that he had received 'the go ahead to let it be known', Hatley said, 'Josh has been released.'
'Thank you for your support and prayers. Please do not stop praying for The Sullivans,' his post read.
'Also, PLEASE respect The Sullivans privacy and their parents. A lot of folks love The Sullivans, and they love you back, but give them some time.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Governor, faith leaders condemn Boulder attack: ‘Violence and hate have no home in Colorado'
BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) — Faith leaders in Boulder joined Governor Jared Polis on Pearl Street Wednesday, united in condemning Sunday's attack. Faith and political leaders of all backgrounds showed a united front in Boulder on Wednesday, making it clear, they do not want hate to win. Boulder Terror Attack: Continuing coverage 'Today, we return here. To the site where this occurred, to show and buy deeds and words that terrorism does not win. We are united as Coloradans of all faiths of all backgrounds, to make it clear that anti-semitism, that violence and hate have no home in Colorado, not today and not ever,' Polis said Wednesday morning. Faith leaders from the Jewish, Christian, Muslim and other communities came together in Boulder on Wednesday, calling out the attack on marchers on Pearl Street as an act of hate. 'The Muslim community here in Boulder and here in Colorado certainly denounces what happened here on Sunday,' said Imam Nader Elmarhoumi of the Islamic Center of Boulder. While all the leaders condemned the attack, some were not surprised. 'The whole Jewish community is reeling, shocked. That this hideous hate crime could happen right here in beautiful, downtown Boulder, Colorado. And yet we have seen this coming, we have seen this coming,' said Rabbi Marc Soloway of Congregation Bonai Shalom. 'This is not the time for pedantic analysis about the difference between anti-Zionism and antisemitism nor to talk about the horrors of a war thousands of miles away. This was a brutal, hateful, antisemitic terrorist attack against peaceful Jews in Boulder, Colorado, in 2025.' Tourist details newly obtained video of Boulder attack showing people on fire Leaders said they have seen a rise in hate speech and hateful actions towards the jewish community. They are asking Coloradans to help put an end to it. 'As the scourge of anti-Jewish and antisemitic rhetoric and sadly violence continues to rear its ugly head, we want to say enough. Hate, antisemitism, terrorism and violence have no place in Colorado and no place in the United States of America,' said Governor Jared Polis. Jewish community members are urging their friends and colleagues of different backgrounds to help call out hate when they see it in hopes of stopping more violence. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
American, Kazakhs in Bali face death penalty over drugs: authorities
An American man and two Kazakh nationals face the death penalty for alleged drug crimes on the popular Indonesian resort island of Bali, authorities said Thursday, the latest cases in a nation with some of the world's toughest narcotics laws. Indonesia hands out severe punishments for drug smuggling and has previously executed foreigners, but has upheld a moratorium on the death sentence since 2017. American national William Wallace Molyneaux was arrested on May 23, allegedly carrying seven packages containing 99 pills of amphetamine, Bali's narcotics agency told reporters in Denpasar. Molyneaux has multiple charges levelled against him including distributing drugs, which carries the maximum penalty of death by execution. Two Kazakh men were also arrested in April with around 49 grams of crystal meth, allegedly intending to drop it off as part of a drug deal. They were accused of transacting drugs, a charge that carries the death sentence as the maximum penalty. The American and Kazakh embassies in Jakarta did not immediately respond to AFP's requests for comment. The narcotics agency said it had uncovered 15 drug cases in Bali between April and May, resulting in 21 arrests including five foreigners. The other cases include an Australian man who was arrested with nearly 200 grams of hashish and 92 grams of THC in Denpasar and an Indian man caught with 488 grams of marijuana at Bali's international airport. Both face hefty prison terms. The latest cases come after the trial of three Brits began on Tuesday, all accused of smuggling drugs or taking part in a drugs deal, leaving them also facing the death penalty. The British embassy in Jakarta said London's policy on the death penalty was to be opposed "in all circumstances, as a matter of principle". It said diplomats had "made representations about the use of the death penalty to the Indonesian government at the highest levels". Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's administration has moved in recent months to repatriate several high-profile inmates, all sentenced for drug offences, back to their home countries. According to Indonesia's Ministry of Immigration and Corrections, more than 90 foreigners were on death row, all on drug charges. str-mrc-jfx/dhc
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Trump orders an investigation into Biden and his alleged use of the autopen
President Donald Trump on Wednesday directed a wide-ranging investigation into former President Joe Biden and officials in his administration, accusing his aides of using 'autopen' signatures to cover up his "cognitive decline" and assert presidential power. Trump frequently uses Biden as a political foil and has sought to undo a number of policies from his predecessor's administration since he returned to office. The announcement Wednesday directs the White House counsel and Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate whether anyone "conspired to deceive the public about Biden's mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President." It is an escalation of an issue that Trump and his allies have frequently raised, possibly paving the way for Republicans to argue that many of Biden's actions as president were invalid. "This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history," Trump wrote in a memo. "The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden's signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts." Trump has acknowledged using the autopen himself in office. In March, he said he turned to it 'only for very unimportant papers,' such as responses to letters. 'But to use them for — for what they've used them for is terrible,' he added, referring to the Biden administration. In Wednesday's memo, Trump further contended that if Biden's aides 'secretly' used the pen to conceal his alleged decline while they were taking executive actions in his stead, 'that would constitute an unconstitutional wielding of the power of the Presidency, a circumstance that would have implications for the legality and validity of numerous executive actions undertaken in Biden's name.' Biden defended his record in a statement Wednesday, arguing that the probe was a 'distraction' from Trump and Republican lawmakers. 'Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn't is ridiculous and false,' Biden said. Trump has previously claimed without evidence that Biden used an autopen to sign pre-emptive pardons for the members of Congress who investigated the events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol, rendering them 'void.' Autopens have long been a mechanical tool to reproduce signatures in the White House, with Barack Obama being the first president to use it to sign legislation, according to The Associated Press. Previous administrations have pointed to a 2005 Office of Legal Counsel memo stating that the president 'need not personally perform the physical act of affixing his signature to a bill he approves and decides to sign in order for the bill to become law.' Biden has frequently defended himself against claims about his mental fitness and memory. Former special counsel Robert Hur said in a report last year that Biden would probably present to a jury as a "sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory" in explaining his decision not to prosecute Biden after an investigation of his handling of classified documents. Biden rejected Hur's claims about his memory shortly after the report was released last year, saying, "My memory's fine." In an interview with ABC's 'The View' in May, Biden again denied having suffered from mental decline when he was president. 'They are wrong,' he said of the allegations. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is also investigating Biden and has asked several former White House aides to appear for transcribed interviews. This article was originally published on
