Two reporters covering the reopening of a hospital in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and a police officer were fatally shot on Tuesday in an assault by gang members, according to a local media collective and officials.
Reporters Markenzy Nathoux and Jimmy Jean lost their lives “during an assault by bandits from the coalition ‘Viv Ansanm’ (‘Living Together’)” at the State University of Haiti Hospital, said Robest Dimanche, spokesperson for the Online Media Collective, to AFP.
Additional journalists sustained injuries in the gunfire and are receiving treatment at a different clinic, Dimanche noted.
A police officer was also killed, as confirmed by Haitian National Police spokesman Lionel Lazarre to AFP, though no additional details were given.
The State University of Haiti Hospital, referred to as General Hospital, had been closed since February following an attack by members of the same gang coalition.
Preliminary reports indicated that attackers opened fire at the clinic during its reopening. A witness informed AFP that several individuals were injured, although the exact number remains unclear.
“Journalists injured during an armed attack by the bandits of Viv Ansanm” on General Hospital, reported local news outlet Gazette Haiti on X, sharing images of injured individuals on the hospital floor.
The newspaper depicted scenes of “total panic in the city center. “
Radio Tele Gelaxie also covered the incident, stating that multiple journalists were struck by gunfire.
Leslie Voltaire, president of Haiti’s transitional ruling council, called the shooting “unacceptable. “
“We express our condolences to the families of the victims, especially the police and journalist associations. We assure them that this attack will not go unpunished,” he stated.
Last week, Viv Ansanm set fire to another clinic in Port-au-Prince, the Bernard Mevs hospital. No injuries were reported, but a significant portion of the facility was destroyed.
Tuesday’s shooting marks another incidence of escalating chaos in the capital of the troubled Caribbean nation, where violence by armed gangs has intensified across various neighborhoods for over a month.
In early December, nearly 200 individuals were killed in a massacre orchestrated by a “powerful gang leader” targeting “voodoo practitioners,” according to the United Nations and a local NGO.
A multinational mission supporting Haitian police, led by Kenya and supported by the UN and the United States, has had minimal effect on the rise in attacks by armed groups, who are accused of numerous murders, rapes, looting, and kidnappings for ransom.
The assaults have also struck vital buildings and infrastructure, leading to the closure of the capital’s airport to commercial flights in November.
