Young couple murdered in horror invasion by gang - as island nation of Haiti descends into violence

A youug couple has been shot, burned and killed by a gang outside a church, as a troubled nation endures months of extreme violence and deadly assaults.

A young couple working on a Christian mission in Haiti have been violently murdered when their compound was overrun by an armed gang, as violence in the troubled nation deepens.

The nation’s capital, Port-au-Prince, has seen months of extreme violence, with deadly assaults on hospitals, prisons, and government buildings.

Davy Lloyd and Natalie Baker Lloyd were killed on Thursday evening. Picture: AFP

The couple were married in June 2022. Picture: AFP

Missions in Haiti, an Oklahoma-based non-profit founded in 2000, said Davy and Natalie Lloyd and a third person were killed in in the city by armed men on Thursday evening.

US media outlets identified the third victim 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”.

In an earlier Facebook post, Missions in Haiti said that the missionaries were ambushed by a gang travelling 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 arrived and “went into full attack mode,” the post added.

A video of the scene reviewed by the Wall Street Journal showed Davy, Natalie, and Jude’s bodies sprawled on the floor of the home, with Davy and Jude’s remains having been burned.

“I’m just at a total loss,” David Lloyd, father of Davy, US media. “I’m just in total shock. I haven’t grieved. I haven’t done anything else. I haven’t eaten. I can’t think.”

Davy Lloyd (far left) and Natalie (centre) were ambushed by two gangs before they were shot and killed. Picture: AFP

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.

“The security situation in Haiti cannot wait,” said a National Security Council spokesperson, stressing that President Joe Biden had pledged to support the “expedited deployment” of the force in talks with Kenya’s president on Thursday.

“Our hearts go out to the families of those killed as they experience unimaginable grief,” the spokesperson added.

Natalie’s father, Missouri State Rep Ben Baker, told the Kansas City Star he would not comment further on his daughter’s killing until he knew the couple’s bodies were “safe at the embassy.”

‘Violence that spares no one’

A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed condolences, calling it “just another example of the violence that spares no one in Haiti”.

The main airport partly reopened this week after being closed since early March, when the powerful and well-armed gangs that control much of the country went on a coordinated rampage they said was aimed at toppling then-prime minister Ariel Henry.

Henry, who has since resigned, had himself been unable to return home while abroad at the time of the attacks due to the gangs’ activity.

Haiti has been wracked for decades by poverty, natural disasters, political instability and violence. It has had no president since the assassination of Jovenel Moise in 2021, and it has no sitting parliament.

Aerial view of the massive destruction caused by armed gangs in the city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, May 24, 2024. (Photo by Clarens SIFFROY / AFP)

The last election was in 2016, and a new transitional government council is struggling to assert its authority.

Food is running short, tens of thousands are fleeing their homes, and the health care system is on the brink of collapse.

Lamarre Lamy, a pastor with International Missions Outreach, was shaken by the missionaries’ deaths, saying the work of such humanitarians is crucial for young Haitians amid the violence and chaos.

“Many young people are at university thanks to their support,” he said.

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. (Photo by Clarens SIFFROY / AFP)

‘The security situation in Haiti cannot wait,’ said a National Security Council spokesperson, stressing that President Joe Biden had pledged to support the ‘expedited deployment’ of the force in talks with Kenya's president on May 23. (Photo by Clarens SIFFROY / AFP)

“We shouldn’t be dying like this; you cannot spend a day without hearing about murder,” Lamy added.

Kenyan President William Ruto vowed during his visit to Washington that his country’s security deployment to Haiti would seek to crush the gangs.

The Biden administration had searched extensively for a country to take the lead on the mission to Haiti after it ruled out sending US forces, which have a long history of intervention in the country.