The parents of 29-year-old Joel Shrum rejected the idea, circulating in Yemen, that he was there as a Christian missionary. They said Yemen was the latest chapter in Shrum’s life of seeking to help others out of poverty and build bridges between cultures.
“He had a knack with people,” Jim Shrum said. “Knocking down barriers, accepting other cultures, taking the good and the bad.”
Shrum was killed Sunday by two gunmen on a motorcycle while driving in the city of Taiz. A text message circulated by mobile phone in Yemen afterward said “holy warriors” had killed “a senior missionary,” but it was impossible to confirm the claim of responsibility.
Al-Qaeda and other militant groups are active in Yemen, which has suffered a breakdown of central state authority during the country’s yearlong uprising.
Taiz security director Ali Al-Saidi said Monday that the investigation is still ongoing.
Joel Shrum moved to Yemen three years ago with his wife, Janelle, and older son. He began working for the Swedish-run International Training Development Center in Taiz in 2010 and eventually was promoted to deputy director, his parents said.
The school also denied that Shrum was proselytizing, saying he “highly respected” Islam. It said Muslims and Christians work together on “human development, skill transfer and community development” projects there and that religious and political debates are not permitted.
It also asked the Yemeni people to “reject the hatred and violence in their country.”
