Armed Attack at Haiti Hospital Kills at Least 3

At least three people were killed, including two journalists and a police officer, when armed men fired on reporters gathered for the reopening of Haiti’s largest public hospital in downtown Port-au-Prince on Tuesday morning, according to two witnesses and the president of the country’s ruling Transitional Presidential Council.

The Health Ministry did not immediately respond to phone calls seeking comment, and a police spokesman said he had no information about the shooting. But a local gang leader named Johnson (Izo) André of the Viv Ansanm (Living Together) gang coalition posted a video on social media claiming responsibility for the attack.

In a statement posted on social media, the prime minister’s office said, “This heinous act, which targets an institution dedicated to health and life, constitutes an unacceptable assault on the very foundations of our society.”

Jephte Bazil, a reporter with the online news outlet Machann Zen Haïti, said by phone outside a nearby hospital where the injured had been taken: “I’m still in shock — they shot at us. Some went down. They were hit by the bullets.”

As he spoke on late Tuesday afternoon, the sound of gunfire could be heard in the background. “There is still shooting,” he said.

At least seven others were wounded, including another police officer, in the shooting on Tuesday at State University of Haiti Hospital, known locally as the General Hospital. Video footage shared on social media showed bloodstained floors. Bodies could be seen lying motionless in a pool of blood, according to the videos, including one filmed from a drone.