Daughter, Son-in-Law of Missouri Official Killed in Haiti Gang Attack, as Violence Consumes Country

“I’ve never felt this kind of pain,” a Missouri state representative, Ben Baker, said Friday in announcing that his daughter and son-in-law had been killed by a gang in Haiti.Mr. Baker’s daughter and son-in-law, Natalie and Davy Lloyd, were working as missionaries when they were attacked as they left a church on Thursday, according to the nonprofit religious organization Missions in Haiti Inc., which announced their deaths early Friday morning.“This evening when Davy, Natalie and the kids were coming out of Youth at the church they were ambushed by a gang of three trucks full of guys,” Missions in Haiti Inc. wrote in a Facebook post.According to the post, the late couple was using a Starlink internet connection to call the head of Missions in Haiti Inc. when a “gang then took our trucks and loaded everything up they wanted and left.”The body of a man lies in a pool of blood alongside his motorcycle, in the Delmas area of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, March 8, 2024. Witnesses say he was shot by two unidentified men on motorcycles. AP/Odelyn Joseph“Another gang came after to see what was going on and if they could help, so they say,” the post reads. “No one understood what they were doing, not sure what took place but one was shot and killed and now this gang went into full attack mode.”The post continued, “Davy, Natalie and Jude was in my house at the end of the property using the star link internet to call me. So they are holed up in there, the gangs has shot all the windows out of the house and continue to shoot.”According to the post, the poster tried to get a police armored car to evacuate the missionaries and also tried to negotiate with the gang to stand down. A few hours after the initial post, though, the mission group announced that three people had been killed.“Davy and Natalie and Jude were shot and killed by the gang about 9 o’clock this evening,” a Facebook post reads. “We all are devastated.”Natalie and Davy Lord in happier times. Ben Baker/FacebookMr. Baker, in a Facebook post, said, “My heart is broken in a thousand pieces.”“They went to Heaven together. Please pray for my family we desperately need strength,” Mr. Baker said. “And please pray for the Lloyd family as well. I have no other words for now.”In recent months Haiti has been convulsed by violence after what the country’s transition council called a total collapse of government institutions, with armed gangs operating brazenly across the small nation. Since February, gangs, which for the first time are cooperating in a takeover of the capital, Port au Prince, have attacked the country’s largest airport, and stormed prisons, releasing thousands of prisoners, and peaceful communities, including missionaries.A lifeless body lies against the curb as pedestrians walk past at Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 11, 2024. AP/Odelyn JosephOver the past few weeks Missions in Haiti Inc. has documented the collapse of the country’s institutions, saying on May 9, “It may be the worst is behind us now and better days ahead.”A review of its Facebook posts indicates that the mission had decided to continue operating a school in the country despite the chaos. Missions in Haiti Inc. operates a school at Lizon, in north Port-au-Prince, where it says about 240 students are enrolled.At least one member of the mission had been evacuated in early April, after the American embassy indicated that that could be the last week it was possible to receive assistance in evacuation.Though it’s not clear which gang is responsible for the deaths, according to the Associated Press the area is controlled by a leader called Chyen Mechan, which means “mean dog” in Haitian Creole. The leader’s actual name is Claudy Célestin, and he is a former Haiti state employee.The gang is part of a coalition known as Viv Ansanm, meaning “live together,” which has been behind attacks on government infrastructure like police stations in recent months.Many foreigners operating around Port Au Prince have been evacuated since the collapse of Haitian institutions began. The violence in Haiti has been concentrated around Port Au Prince, the main city in Haiti.

Daughter, Son-in-Law of Missouri Official Killed in Haiti Gang Attack, as Violence Consumes Country

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