Three members of the Oklahoma-based missionary group Missions in Haiti were brutally killed in an attack by criminal gangs in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The incident highlights the escalating gang violence in the region and the urgent need for international support to combat the security crisis.
On May 23, 2024, three members of the Oklahoma-based missionary group Missions in Haiti were killed in an attack by criminal gangs in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The victims included David Lloyd III, his wife Natalie Lloyd, and the organization’s Haitian director Jude Montis. The couple had been missionaries full-time in Haiti since their marriage in 2022.
The attack took place as the victims were leaving a church in the Lizon neighborhood, a region controlled by local gangs. The gang members abducted the Lloyds, tied them up, and beat them before opening fire on the house they were held in. This incident is part of a larger pattern of gang violence in Haiti, exacerbated since February when multiple gangs united against the government.
Missions in Haiti, founded in 2000 by David and Alicia Lloyd, operates a school, two churches, and a children’s home in Bon Repos, northern Port-au-Prince. Despite recent violence, the area had seen relative peace until the attack. The gang responsible for this incident belongs to a coalition known as Viv Ansanm, which has been coordinating widespread assaults against government institutions.
The gang violence has surged since the assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, leading to a significant increase in deaths and injuries in early 2024. The United Nations and other international bodies have expressed concern, and the U.S. State Department reiterated a “do not travel” advisory for Haiti.
The international community, led by Kenya under a United Nations-backed mission, is preparing to deploy forces to support local police in combating the gangs. However, the precise timing and details of the mission are still being confirmed.
