US Couple, Fellow Missionary Slain by Haitian Gang
A US couple was among three missionaries shot and killed by a gang outside a church in Haiti’s capital, which has suffered months of severe violence with deadly attacks on hospitals, prisons, and government buildings.
Missions in Haiti, an Oklahoma-based nonprofit founded in 2000, reported that Davy and Natalie Lloyd, along with a third person, were killed in Port-au-Prince by armed men on Thursday evening. The third victim was identified by US media as Jude Montis, the Haitian director of Missions in Haiti.
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“Davy, Natalie, and Jude were shot and killed by the gang around 9 o’clock this evening,” Missions in Haiti announced on its Facebook page on Friday. “We are all devastated.”
A police spokesperson stated, “The bandits entered the house, looted it, and then murdered the missionaries.” An investigation is underway.
In an earlier Facebook post, Missions in Haiti explained that the missionaries were ambushed by a gang traveling in three vehicles. “Davy was taken to the house, tied up, and beaten,” it said. “The gang then loaded up our trucks with everything they wanted and left.” Members of another gang then arrived and “went into full attack mode,” the post added.
In response to the deaths, the White House called for the swift deployment of a Kenyan-led multinational force in Haiti to address the rampant gang violence. “The security situation in Haiti cannot wait,” said a National Security Council spokesperson, noting that President Joe Biden had pledged support for the “expedited deployment” of the force in discussions with Kenya’s president on Thursday. “Our hearts go out to the families of those killed as they experience unimaginable grief,” the spokesperson added.
‘Violence that spares no one’
A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed condolences, describing the incident as “another example of the violence that spares no one in Haiti.”
The main airport partially reopened this week after being closed since early March, when powerful and well-armed gangs that control much of the country went on a coordinated rampage aimed at toppling then-prime minister Ariel Henry. Henry, who has since resigned, had been unable to return home while abroad during the attacks due to the gangs’ activity.
Haiti has long been plagued by poverty, natural disasters, political instability, and violence. The country has had no president since the assassination of Jovenel Moise in 2021 and has no sitting parliament. The last election was in 2016, and a new transitional government council is struggling to assert its authority, with food shortages, tens of thousands fleeing their homes, and a collapsing healthcare system.
Lamarre Lamy, a pastor with International Missions Outreach, was deeply affected by the missionaries’ deaths, noting that their humanitarian work is crucial for young Haitians amid the chaos. “Many young people are at university thanks to their support,” he said. “We shouldn’t be dying like this; you cannot spend a day without hearing about murder,” Lamy added.
Kenyan President William Ruto, during his visit to Washington, vowed that his country’s security deployment to Haiti would aim to crush the gangs. The Biden administration had extensively searched for a country to lead the mission to Haiti after ruling out sending US forces, which have a long history of intervention in the country.
US Couple, Fellow Missionary Slain by Haitian Gang