Three killed after gunmen open fire on reporters during opening of hospital in Haiti

Two reporters and a police officer were killed in a gang attack in Haiti at the reopening of Port-au-Prince’s largest public hospital.

Suspected gang members opened fire on journalists covering the reopening of the General Hospital in Haiti’s capital during a Christmas Eve tragedy.

The hospital was forced to close earlier this year due to street gang violence, and its reopening was a highly anticipated event. More victims were injured in the tragedy.

Video footage from local media livestreaming the attack showed journalists huddled on the floor of the hospital lobby as a barrage of bullets flew by. Some appeared to have been hit and were bleeding.

Armed gangs in Haiti, with near-total control of the capital Port-au-Prince and broad power over the rest of the country, have attacked hospitals to demonstrate their power over the government, forcing most to close their doors.

Robest Dimanche, a spokesperson for the Online Media Collective, identified the murdered journalists as Markenzy Nathoux and Jimmy Jean.

Dimanche said an unspecified number of reporters were also involved in the attack, which he blamed on the Viv Ansanm coalition of gangs.

The Haitian Association of Journalists confirmed that two reporters and a police officer were killed, while seven reporters were injured in what it called “a macabre scene akin to terrorism, pure and simple.”

Haiti’s interim president Leslie Voltaire said in an address to the nation that journalists and police were among the victims of the attack. He did not provide figures on the number of victims or provide a breakdown.

“I express my condolences to the people who have been victims, the national police and the journalists,” Voltaire said. “What happened today is unacceptable.”

The government later released a statement saying it would “respond decisively to the attack.”

“This heinous act, targeting an institution concerned with health and life, represents an unacceptable attack on the foundations of our society,” the report said.

Earlier, a video posted online by the reporters trapped in the hospital showed what appeared to be two lifeless bodies of men on stretchers, their clothes bloodied.

One of the men had a lanyard with a press ID around his neck.

Radio Télé Métronome initially reported that seven journalists and two police officers were injured.

Police and officials did not immediately respond to calls for information about the attack.

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

Journalists were invited to the hospital from 8 a.m. for the press conference in the city center of the capital Port-au-Prince with Haiti’s new Minister of Health.

They were still waiting for the minister when the shooting started around 11am.

Health Minister Duckenson Lorthe Blema was installed in November in a cabinet reshuffle when former Prime Minister Garry Conille was ousted after just six months in office.

The State University of Haiti Hospital, known locally as the General Hospital, is the country’s largest public hospital but has been closed since a wave of gang attacks in March that ousted former Prime Minister Ariel Henry from power.

In July, authorities celebrated regaining control of the hospital with a press conference at the facility, but Conille was forced to flee along with security officers and journalists under a flurry of gunfire.

The hospital is located in central Port-au-Prince, a stone’s throw from the central Champ de Mars square, an area where gunfights and clashes have regularly occurred between police and a citywide alliance of gangs known as Viv Ansanm.

Street gangs have taken over an estimated 85 percent of Port-au-Prince and have also targeted Haiti’s main international airport and two largest prisons.

Neighboring countries have been slow to fulfill promises of security support for the Caribbean country.

An international mission approved last year has deployed only a fraction of troops so far, while Haiti’s call to boost its resources by transforming it into a peacekeeping force has faced opposition at the UN Security Council.

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

The video stated that the gang coalition had not given permission for the hospital to reopen.

Haiti has seen journalists targeted before.

In 2023, two local journalists were murdered in the space of a few weeks; radio reporter Dumesky Kersaint was fatally 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, known as the General Hospital, after authorities regained control of the hospital from gangs.

The hospital was destroyed and strewn with rubble. Walls and nearby buildings were riddled with bullet holes, indicating fighting between police and gangs.

The hospital is across the street from the National Palace, where several battles have taken place in recent months.

Gang attacks have brought Haiti’s healthcare system to the brink of collapse with looting, fires and destruction of medical facilities and pharmacies in the capital.

The violence has led to an increase in the number of patients and a shortage of resources to treat them.

Haiti’s healthcare system faces additional challenges during the rainy season, likely increasing the risk of waterborne diseases.

Poor conditions in camps and makeshift settlements have increased the risk of diseases such as cholera, with more than 84,000 suspected cases in the country, according to UNICEF.