.png "GG NEWS")
An American pastor kidnapped by armed men during a Church service in
South Africa has been freed following a high-intensity shoot-out that left
three people dead.
Josh Sullivan was found
unharmed in the township in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape - the area where the
45-year-old was taken last Thursday.
There were no immediate details on the kidnappers, who had made a
ransom demand, though there has been a dramatic increase in kidnappings for
ransom in South Africa over the past decade.
Mr Sullivan's kidnappers had made a ransom demand, prompting the
intervention of South Africa's elite police unit, known as the Hawks.
In a statement released on Wednesday morning, the Hawks said that Sullivan
had been rescued following verified intelligence wherein a coordinated team moved
swiftly to the identified location.
Hawks spokesperson
Avele Fumba said that as the officers approached the house, the suspects
attempted to flee inside a vehicle, while opening fire.
The officers responded
with tactical precision, leading to a high-intensity shootout in which three
unidentified suspects were fatally wounded.
Mr Sullivan's family and friends had made impassioned pleas for his
safe return since his abduction.
Jeremy Hall, the Sullivan
family's spokesman, told local newspaper TimesLIVE that he was at the Church with
his wife and their children when Sullivan was kidnapped.
Mr Sullivan describes
himself as a Church Planting Missionary on his personal website.
On it, he says he moved
to South Africa with his wife and children in 2018 to establish a Church for
Xhosa-speaking people.