Three shot dead as gunmen attack Haiti hospital
At least three people have been killed after armed men opened fire on medical staff, police, and journalists during a briefing about the reopening of Haiti’s largest public hospital. The attack occurred on Tuesday at the General Hospital in the capital, Port-au-Prince, leaving many others injured.
Images shared online appear to show several people either injured or dead inside the hospital.
The facility had been retaken by the Haitian government in July after it was occupied and destroyed by violent gangs that control much of the city.
Journalists were waiting for the health minister’s arrival when the shooting started. Reports indicate that two journalists and a police officer were among the dead.
In a video statement, Leslie Voltaire, head of Haiti’s presidential transitional council, expressed condolences, stating, “We extend our sympathy to all the victims’ families, especially to the Haiti National Police and all journalist associations.”
“We guarantee them that this act will not remain without consequences.”
The people of Haiti continue to suffer with unbearable levels of gang violence, despite the installation of a new transition government in April and the deployment of an international force led by Kenyan police officers six months ago.
Haiti has been engulfed in a wave of gang violence since the assassination in 2021 of the then-president, Jovenel Moïse.
An estimated 85% of Port-au-Prince is still under gang control.
The UN says that as many as 5,000 people have been killed in violence in Haiti this year along, and the country is now on the verge of collapse.
