Police kill four after Haiti’s president assassination
A DEADLY gun battle between police and the men suspected of assassinating Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse has been raging in Port- au- Prince.
Police chief, Léon Charles, said four suspects had been killed and two detained but some remained at large with a manhunt still under way.
“They will be killed or captured,” the police chief said.
Mr Moïse, 53, was fatally shot and his wife injured when attackers stormed their home early on Wednesday.
Police chief Charles described dramatic scenes as officers confronted the alleged assassins.
“We blocked ( the suspects) en route as they left the scene of the crime,” he told a news conference. “Since then, we have been battling with them.”
Officials say the suspects are well armed and had taken three police officers hostage, who have since been freed.
Mr Charles urged residents to stay indoors for their own safety.
The acting prime minister, Claude Joseph, has described Haiti as being “in shock” after the killing of Mr Moïse.
Heavily armed assassins stormed the president’s home in the hills above Portau- Prince at around 01: 00 local time ( 05: 00 GMT) on Wednesday.
Mr Moïse died at the scene. The president’s body had 12 bullet wounds, Magistrate Carl Henry Destin told Le Nouvelliste newspaper.
He said the president’s office and bedroom were ransacked and that he was found lying on his back, covered in blood.
First Lady Martine Moïse has been flown to Florida where she is said to be in a critical but stable condition.
The couple’s three children, Jomarlie, Jovenel Jr and Joverlein, are reportedly in a “safe location”, officials said.
Mr Destin said that Jomarlie had survived by hiding in her brother’s room, while the attackers had tied up two domestic staff members.
Police chief Charles gave no further details of the attackers, who he called “mercenaries”, nor did he say what the motive might have been.