An American missionary was abducted at gunpoint during a church service in South Africa, authorities and a colleague confirmed Friday.
Pastor Josh Sullivan was delivering a sermon at Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell, near the coastal city of Gqeberha, when four armed, masked men stormed the building late Thursday night.
The assailants reportedly stole two mobile phones and abducted the 45-year-old pastor before fleeing. His colleague, Reverend Jeremy Hall, said the attack appeared to be financially motivated and described it as a likely ransom kidnapping.
“They called him by name,” Hall told AFP. “They pointed guns at him, forced him into his own vehicle, and drove away.” The car was later discovered abandoned about 1.5 kilometers (less than a mile) from the church.
At the time of the attack, Sullivan was leading a prayer session attended by around 30 congregants, including his wife and six children.
Originally from Tennessee, Sullivan moved to South Africa with his family in November 2018, according to his personal website.
The abduction follows another kidnapping earlier this week in Gqeberha, where a Chinese national was taken under similar circumstances. The city lies along the Indian Ocean, approximately 920 kilometers (570 miles) southeast of Johannesburg.
Kidnappings have surged across South Africa in recent years. Police data shows more than 17,000 abductions were reported in the 2023/2024 fiscal year — an 11% increase from the previous year.
