A tragic incident in Haiti has claimed the lives of three people, including a young American missionary couple, amid ongoing gang violence in the country.
Natalie Lloyd, 21, her 23-year-old husband David, and Jude Montis, a 20-year-old Haitian, were fatally ambushed by gunmen after leaving a church.
Natalie’s father, Missouri State Senator Ben Baker, confirmed the couple’s deaths on Facebook.
“They were attacked by gangs this evening and were both killed,” he wrote. “They went to heaven together.”
The couple had been married since 2022, according to a BBC report. Missions in Haiti, the organization they worked with, confirmed Montis as the third victim.
An earlier Facebook post from the organization detailed that the trio faced two separate armed attacks, beginning with gunmen in three vehicles.
After another group arrived and a gang member was shot, the missionaries found themselves trapped in a house under heavy gunfire.
“They are holed up in there, the gangs have shot all the windows out of the house and continued to shoot,” the post said. Three hours later, Missions in Haiti confirmed their deaths.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson expressed condolences and affirmed readiness to provide consular assistance, as reported by the BBC’s U.S. partner CBS.
Missouri Governor Mike Parson described the news as “absolutely heart-breaking” on the social media platform X.
The White House urged for the rapid deployment of a Kenyan-led multinational force to stabilize Haiti.
“The security situation in Haiti cannot wait,” a National Security Council spokesperson stated, adding that President Joe Biden supported the “expedited deployment” of the force during discussions with Kenya’s president.
Kenyan President William Ruto, in a BBC interview, highlighted the urgency of the situation, stating, “We shouldn’t be losing people. We shouldn’t be losing missionaries. It is the reason why we made this decision – knowing very well that the responsibility for security in Haiti is a shared responsibility.”
“We are doing this to forestall and to stop more people losing their lives to gangs,” he added.
This incident echoes a similar one in 2021, where 17 North American missionaries were kidnapped and held east of Port-au-Prince.
While five were released, the remaining twelve eventually escaped by navigating through dense bush using stars.
Operating since 2000, Missions in Haiti focuses on aiding Haitian children. However, recent weeks have seen gangs executing coordinated attacks, pushing for the resignation of then Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who agreed to step down in March.
The transitional council now leading the country is facing challenges as gangs expand their control amid the power vacuum.
Kenya plans to deploy police forces to Haiti within three weeks to help restore order under an international force’s leadership.
Meanwhile, the UN children’s agency Unicef has warned that violence and malnutrition are pushing Haiti’s health system towards collapse.
