Police kill 4 suspects after assassination of Haiti’s president

Police said four suspects in the assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Mois were killed in an encounter with security forces. Two others have been taken into custody while authorities still grapple with the few remaining suspects in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince.

Police Chief Leon Charles said he would be killed or captured.
The attackers stormed his house early in the morning, killing 53-year-old Moise and injuring his wife.

Unidentified gunmen entered the president’s private residence in Port-au-Prince at 1 p.m. local time. The president was killed, but First Lady Martin survived and was taken to Florida where she is undergoing treatment.
His condition is said to be stable but critical.

“Four suspects were killed (and) two are under our control,” Charles said in a statement on television late Wednesday. Three policemen who were taken hostage have been rescued.
“We stopped the suspects on the way as they were running from the crime scene,” he said.

Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph has called for calm and declared a nationwide state of emergency following the assassination of the president.

US President Joe Biden expressed condolences to the people of Haiti for the gruesome murder. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called it a disgusting act and also appealed for calm.

Moises became Haiti’s president in 2017, but has faced widespread protests in recent days demanding his resignation.