WASHINGTON: A US couple was among three missionaries shot and killed by a gang outside a church in the Haitian capital, which has endured months of extreme violence with deadly assaults on hospitals, prisons and government buildings.

Missions in Haiti, an Oklahoma-based nonprofit founded in 2000, said Davy and Natalie Lloyd and a third person were killed in Port-au-Prince by armed men on Thursday evening.

The third victim was identified by US media outlets as Jude Montis, the Haitian director of Missions in Haiti.

“Davy and Natalie and Jude were shot and killed by the gang about 9 o’clock this evening,” Missions in Haiti said on its Facebook page on Friday. “We all are devastated.” According to a police spokesperson, “the bandits entered the house and looted it before murdering the missionaries.” An investigation is underway, the official said.

In an earlier Facebook post, Missions in Haiti said that the missionaries were ambushed by a gang traveling in three vehicles.

“Davy was taken to the house tied up and beat,” it said. “The gang then took our trucks and loaded everything up they wanted and left.” Members of another gang then arrived and “went into full attack mode,” the post added.

Responding to the deaths, the White House called for the swift deployment of a Kenyan-led multinational force in Haiti to tackle rampant gang violence.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2024