Gangs attack journalists at hospital reopening in Haiti; There are three dead and several injured

Two reporters were killed and several others injured in an attack by gang members during the reopening of Port-au-Prince’s largest public hospital, Haiti’s online media association reported. A police officer also died in the incident.

Gangs caused the closure of the General Hospital a few months ago and authorities had promised to reopen the facility in the Haitian capital on Christmas Eve. But as journalists gathered to cover the event on Tuesday, suspected gang members began shooting.

Robest Dimanche, a spokesperson for the Online Media Collective, identified the deceased journalists as Markenzy Nathoux and Jimmy Jean. Dimanche said an unknown number of reporters were also injured in the attack, which he blamed on the Viv Ansanm gang coalition.

The Association of Haitian Journalists confirmed that two reporters and a police officer had died, and that seven journalists were injured in what it described as a “macabre scene comparable to terrorism, plain and simple.”

Haiti’s interim president, Leslie Voltaire, said in an address to the nation that journalists and police officers were among the victims of the attack. It did not specify how many victims there were, nor did it provide a breakdown of those killed or injured.

“I send my condolences to the people who were victims, to the national police and to the journalists,” said Voltaire, who promised that “this crime will not go unpunished.”

The government later issued a statement saying it is “responding firmly to the attack.”

“This atrocious act, directed against an institution dedicated to health and life, constitutes an unacceptable attack against the very foundations of our society,” he said.

Previously, a video posted online by reporters trapped inside the hospital showed what appeared to be two lifeless bodies of men on stretchers, their clothes covered in blood. One of the men had a lanyard with a press credential around his neck.

Radio Télé Métronome initially reported that seven journalists and two police officers were injured. Police and other officials did not immediately respond to calls seeking information about the attack.

Another video posted online, which could not immediately be verified, showed reporters inside the building and at least three of them lying on the ground, apparently injured.

Gangs have taken over approximately 85% of Port-au-Prince and they have also targeted Haiti’s main international airport and two largest prisons.

Johnson “Izo” André, considered the most powerful gang leader in Haiti and part of the Viv Ansanm gang coalition that has taken control of much of Port-au-Prince, posted a video on social media claiming responsibility for the stroke.

The video indicated that the coalition had not authorized the reopening of the hospital.

Gangs in Haiti have attacked journalists in the past. In 2023, two local journalists were murdered within the span of a couple of weeks: radio reporter Dumesky Kersaint died after being shot in mid-April of that year, while journalist Ricot Jean was found dead later that month.

In July, former Prime Minister Garry Conille visited the Haiti State University Hospital, better known as the General Hospital, after authorities regained control of it.

The hospital was destroyed and full of rubble. The walls and nearby buildings were riddled with bullet holes, a sign of clashes between police and gangs. The hospital is located in front of the national palace, the scene of several clashes in recent months.

Attacks by gangs have brought Haiti’s health system to the brink of collapse, as various medical institutions and pharmacies in the capital have been looted, burned or destroyed. The violence has generated an increase in the number of patients and a shortage of resources to treat them.

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