Four Americans Held Hostage & Murdered By Somali Pirates (PHOTOS)

(via CBS)

The four Americans aboard a yacht hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia are dead.

Hijacked last Friday off Oman, the Quest was being piloted toward the Somali coast – and was being shadowed by a U.S. Navy warship.

CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports that gunshots aboard the yacht were heard, and the warship took action.

All 4 Americans were dead, killed apparently by their captors.

There were more than a dozen pirates on board, some dead and others captured, Martin reports.

Jean and Scott Adam killed by Somali Pirates

The Americans were Scott Adam and his wife, Jean, of Marina del Rey, Calif.; and Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle, both of Seattle.

Adam, in his mid-60s, had been an associate producer in Hollywood when he turned in a spiritual direction and enrolled in the seminary a decade ago, Professor Robert K. Johnston of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena and a friend of Adam’s, told The Associated Press.

‘He decided he could take his pension, and he wanted to serve God and humankind,’ he said.

Johnston and Adam worked together to start a film and theology institute. Adam also taught a class on church and media at the school.

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Phyllis Macay, killed by Somali Pirates

Bob Riggle, killed by Somali Pirates

Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle are seen on a yacht in Bodega Bay. They were two of the dead hostages found by US forces.