Family members said the American missionary couple, including the daughter of a Missouri state congressman, and residents who were supporting them were killed after traveling to the Haitian capital following a youth group activity.
“My heart is broken into a thousand pieces. I have never felt pain like this before,” Missouri Rep. Ben Baker (R-Missouri) wrote in a Facebook post. read“As many of you know, my daughter and son-in-law, Davey and Natalie Lloyd, are serving as full-time missionaries in Haiti. They were attacked this evening by a gang and both were killed.”
“They have gone to heaven together,” he added. “Please pray for my family. We really need strength. And please pray for Lloyd’s family. I have no other words right now.”
Lionel Lazare, head of Haiti’s police union, confirmed the attack took place on Thursday in the north of Port-au-Prince, The Associated Press reported.
Davey Lloyd’s sister, Hannah Cornett, said the couple and the group’s mission director, Jude Monteith, were trying to cross the road when three cars carrying gang members cut them off, according to the Associated Press.
Cornett, whose family runs orphanages, schools and churches in the Caribbean, told the news agency that his brother was hit in the head with a gun by gang members, who took him to the second floor, robbed him of his belongings and left him tied up.
As Davey called for help in freeing himself, another group of armed gang members approached.
“Nobody knows what happened,” Cornett said, according to the Associated Press.
The victim’s sister added that as the couple and Monteith tried to flee to her parents’ home, gunmen opened fire.
“They tried to hide there, but the gang shot up the house,” Cornett said, noting that three people were killed.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller It said in a statement On Friday, the Biden administration said it offered its “deepest condolences to the families of the two Americans killed by gangs in Haiti.”
“On behalf of the president, our ambassador to Haiti is in contact with the family, who are experiencing unimaginable grief,” Miller said. “Our embassy stands ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance.”
Gang violence continues to erupt after the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, forcing more than 362,000 people to flee the island nation and leaving thousands dead.
The situation has worsened in recent months as gangs have expanded their influence. The crisis forced Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign in March, creating a political vacuum.
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