The local leader of a mission group in Haiti and a young missionary couple from the USA were attacked and shot by gang members after leaving a youth group activity at a church, a member of the family told the Associated Press.
The killing of Jude Montis, the local director of Missions in Haiti Inc., in addition to Davy and Natalie Lloyd on Thursday occurred locally of Lizon in northern Port au PrinceNatalie Lloyd is the daughter of a Republican state representative in Missouri.
Haiti's capital is crumbling under relentless attacks from violent gangs that control 80 percent of town, while authorities await the arrival of a police force from Kenya, a part of a United Nations-backed mission to stem gang violence within the crisis-ridden Caribbean nation.
Here you may learn more in regards to the missionary work that focused on helping the youngsters of Haiti and the gang attack that left three people dead.
Working in Haiti
The Missions in Haiti website states that the organization's goal is “to ensure that the gospel of Christ makes a difference in the lives of Haiti's young people.”
Davy Lloyd's parents, David and Alicia Lloyd of Oklahoma, founded the organization in 2000 to concentrate on the youngsters of Haiti. David and Alicia Lloyd are full-time missionaries within the country.
“Although the entire country is mired in poverty, children suffer the most,” they wrote on the web site. “Thousands are malnourished, uneducated and headed for a hopeless life without Christ.”
Hannah Cornett, Davy's sister, told AP that they grew up in Haiti. Davy went to the U.S. to attend Bible school and married Natalie in June 2022. After the marriage, the couple moved to Haiti without much delay to do humanitarian work.
Cornett said Montis, a Haitian, worked in missions in Haiti for 20 years.
The organization's activities include the House of Compassion, which provides housing for 36 children – 18 boys and 18 girls – based on its website. “All are designated to stay at the House of Compassion until they finish school and are ready to stand on their own two feet.”
The Good Hope Boys' Home provides a house for 22 boys, based on its website. The organization also built a church, a bakery and a faculty with greater than 240 students.
The attack
A Facebook post on the Missions in Haiti page said that 23-year-old Davy Lloyd and 21-year-old Natalie Lloyd were leaving a church with some children after they were ambushed by gang members in three trucks.
Davy Lloyd later called his family and told them that gang members had hit him in the top with the muzzle of a gun, dragged him upstairs, stolen their belongings and left him tied up, Cornett said.
While people were helping to untie Davy Lloyd, one other group of armed men appeared, Cornett said.
“Nobody understood what they were doing. I'm not sure what happened, but one was shot and now this gang has gone into attack mode,” the Missions in Haiti post said.
The couple and Montis fled to a house attached to the mission.
“They tried to take cover there, but the gang shot up the house,” Cornett said.
Ben Baker, Natalie Lloyd's father and a Missouri state representative, said on Facebook Friday that the couple's bodies had been safely transported to the U.S. embassy.
Cassidy Anderson, a spokeswoman for the family, said in a later Facebook post on Baker's page that they were working to get better the bodies.
“We need to obtain a special permit to transport their bodies without full embalming, as there are no facilities in Haiti that offer this service,” the post said. “After that, we need to find an airline willing to carry out the transport. We pray that everything goes smoothly.”
Grieving families
Cornett said Montis left behind two children, ages 2 and 6.
Montis' family couldn’t be reached for comment Friday and the missions in Haiti didn’t reply to AP's request for comment.
Missions in Haiti said in a Facebook post on Saturday that they were facing “the most difficult time of our lives.”
“The embassy is working to get all the paperwork completed so the children can be flown to the States and many other things behind the scenes to make everything happen more quickly and safely,” the post said, adding that the youngsters and mission staff in Haiti had been relocated to a safer location.
“I have never felt such pain,” he said. “Most of you know that my daughter and son-in-law, Davy and Natalie Lloyd, are full-time missionaries in Haiti. They were attacked by gangs tonight and both killed. They went to heaven together. Please pray for my family, we desperately need strength. And please pray for the Lloyd family too. I am at a loss for words right now.”
Associated Press author Summer Ballentine in Columbia, Missouri, contributed.
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