Three individuals were slain in Haiti as a result of the ongoing rampant gang violence that still affects the nation, including a US missionary couple.
Gunmen ambushed Natalie Lloyd, 21, her husband David, 23, and their 20-year-old Haitian companion Jude Montis as they were leaving a church.
Ben Baker, a state senator from Missouri, who is Natalie’s father, confirmed the couple’s passing on Facebook.
“They were attacked by gangs this evening and were both killed,” he stated. “They went to heaven together.” In 2022, the pair tied the knot. Mr. Montis was the third victim, their organization Missions in Haiti revealed to US media.
The organization said in a previous Facebook post that the three were attacked by two different armed groups, starting with an assault by gunmen driving three different cars.
The report further stated that the three missionaries were locked in a residence as the gang went “into full attack mode” following the arrival of another group and the shooting death of a gang member.
“They are holed up in there, the gangs have shot all the windows out of the house and continued to shoot,” the message read.
Three hours later, missions in Haiti verified that all three had died.
A representative for the state department informed CBS, the BBC’s US partner, that the fatalities are known to them.
In an effort to stabilize the country, the White House on Friday demanded the quick deployment of a multinational force under Kenyan leadership.
A spokesman for the National Security Council stated, “The security situation in Haiti cannot wait,” and mentioned that President Joe Biden had promised to back the “expedited deployment” of the force during discussions with the president of Kenya on Thursday.
The statement said, “Our hearts go out to the families of those killed as they go through unimaginable grief.”
In a Friday interview with the BBC, President William Ruto of Kenya stated that his nation will be deploying troops in the nation in part because of incidents like this.
“People shouldn’t be leaving us. Missionaries shouldn’t be leaving us. We made this choice because we are well aware of that.
“We are doing this to forestall and to stop more people losing their lives to gangs,” he stated.
A comparable event occurred in 2021 when 17 missionaries from North America were abducted and imprisoned east of Port-au-Prince.
