The South African gunman had lured US missionaries from his church as he was preaching, police and colleagues said Friday.
Rev. Josh Sullivan was accused late Thursday at the Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell, Gucberha, the coastal city of the city of Gucberha. A colleague told AFP.
In recent years, South Africa has included the temptation of a temptation by criminal gangs targeting people who can demand large ransoms.
“A sermon was given at the church, and four armed masked male suspects allegedly entered the church,” police said in a statement. “They took two phones, took the 45-year-old male pastor with them and ran away from the scene.”
A US State Department spokesman told the BBC he knew about the invitations of American citizens in South Africa.
Rev. Jeremy Hall, a Southeast-based pastor, told AFP that adduction was probably “financially relevant.”
Police spokesman Captain Andre Beatge said the case would be handed over to the Hawks once protocols are requested to runsom — a specialist police force investigating organized, economic, corruption and other serious crimes.
“As I understand, there was no ransom,” Beetge said, urging anyone with information to move forward.
Sullivan was holding a prayer meeting with about 30 people, including his wife and six children, when the armed temptiers entered, Hall said.
“They knew him by their name,” he said. They took him at the muzzle and thrust him into his car and drove him. The abandoned car was retrieved approximately a mile from the church.
According to his personal website, Sullivan arrived in South Africa from Tennessee in November 2018 with his family.
“We want to soon graduate from language school and plant the church with people who speak Xhosa,” he wrote on his site.
Sullivan has been on staff at Fellowship Baptist Church in Maryville, Tennessee since February 2012, according to the website.
“Pray for Josh Sullivan, the missionary to South Africa,” the church wrote on its Facebook page.
While they awaited Sullivan’s safe return, supporters flocked to the pastor’s personal blog sites and other social media platforms to provide them with what they’re well-known.
A poster named Richard Stockton said on the church website, “We pray that you saved us from these evil men.” “Praying the Holy Spirit often will work on their hearts and be saved. And release you!!!”
Another supporter called Kody Moore said Josh was “a loyal brother who does a lot to make Christ known in Africa.”
“Pray that Josh should be safe, especially at this absolutely horrifying time, to bring his family home, and may Christ be expanded,” he tweeted to X.
Police anti-gangsters said Chinese citizens were also lured in the city on Tuesday. It is located in the Indian Ocean and is approximately 570 miles southeast of Johannesburg.
Police statistics show that there were over 17,000 enticements in South Africa during the 2023-2024 fiscal year, an increase of 11% the previous year.
South Africa is also plagued by intensifying gun violence. According to Gun Free South Africa, 33 people are killed daily by South African guns. It is a nonprofit that advocates for reducing gun violence.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
