In this photo provided by the South African Police Service, South African law enforcement officers enter the gate of the house where an American missionary Josh Sullivan was being held in KwaMagxaki, Gqeberha, South Africa, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (South African Police Services via AP)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — 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 said Wednesday.

The 45-year-old American, 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 abducted on Thursday when four men broke into the church. 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 in the city of 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 noted 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 blog as the pastor who trained him, posted a picture of Sullivan and his family on Facebook. “Josh has been released,” Hatley wrote.

“Thank you for your support and prayers. Please do not stop praying for the Sullivans,” his post read.

News from © The Associated Press, 2025