Three Christian missionaries from Missions in Haiti were shot and killed in an ambush by a gang in Haiti, the Oklahoma-based group said on Friday.
The missionaries were taking shelter in a house when gang members began shooting at the residence at about 9 p.m. CDT (0200 GMT) Thursday, the group said in two Facebook posts.
Months of gang violence in Haiti have forced the government into retreat, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned the country is close to becoming a failed state.
Haiti’s main international airport in Port-au-Prince reopened this week, nearly three months after it shut due to deadly gang-related violence.
But gangs still control much of the capital and Haiti’s main seaport remains closed.A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said the Biden administration was aware of reports of the deaths of U.S. citizens and offered condolences.
“Our hearts go out to the families of those killed as they experience unimaginable grief,” the spokesperson said.
Missouri State Representative Ben Baker said his daughter Natalie Lloyd and son-in-law Davy Lloyd were killed while working as full-time missionaries.
Davy Lloyd was the son of the organization’s founders, David and Alicia Lloyd, who started it in 2000.The identity of the third person killed has not been released.
