LONDON and PRETORIA — An American missionary who was allegedly kidnapped at gunpoint throughout a church service in South Africa final Thursday night was rescued in “a high-intensity shootout” a number of days later, South African police mentioned Wednesday.
Three unidentified suspects have been killed throughout Tuesday’s operation, which was led by the South African Police Service’s elite Hawks unit, in accordance with an announcement from spokesman Lt. Col. Avele Fumba.
Investigators found that the kidnapped U.S. citizen, believed to be a pastor at a church within the South African port metropolis of Gqeberha, was being held at a secure home there, Fumba mentioned. As officers approached the home on Tuesday, suspects inside a automobile opened fireplace on regulation enforcement and tried to flee the scene, Fumba mentioned, “resulting in a high-intensity shootout during which three unidentified suspects have been fatally wounded.”
“The sufferer was discovered inside the identical automobile from which the suspects had launched their assault,” Fumba added. “Miraculously unhurt, he was instantly assessed by medical personnel and is at the moment in a superb situation.”
Police haven’t but recognized the rescued American by identify. The investigation stays ongoing, in accordance with Fumba.
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