At least 2 killed after armed men fire on Haiti hospital reopening

At least two people were killed and others injured on Tuesday when armed men opened fire on a group of journalists who gathered for a government press conference set to announce the reopening of Haiti’s largest public hospital, a witness to the attack told Reuters.

A journalist and a police officer were killed at the scene, the witness said.

Haiti’s national police did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for information.

The transitional presidential council said in a post on Facebook that the act would not go without consequences.

“We express our sympathy to all the victims’ families, in particular, to the Haitian National Police and all the journalists’ associations,” it said.

Journalists were invited to arrive at the hospital from 8 a.m. (1300 GMT) to the press conference in the downtown area of the capital Port-au-Prince with Haiti’s new health minister. They were still awaiting the minister when shooting began around 11 a.m.

Health Minister Duckenson Lorthe Blema was installed late November in a cabinet re-shuffle when former Prime Minister Garry Conille was ousted after just six months in office.

The State University of Haiti Hospital, known locally as the General Hospital, is the country’s largest public hospital but it has been closed since a March surge in gang attacks that saw former Prime Minister Ariel Henry ousted from power.